The Courier - Edition 206

Edition 206

www.thecourier.es

Friday 30th January 2015

BROTHERS AT WAR MAN HACKED IN STREET SHOWDOWN

By ALEX TRELINSKI Two Torrevieja brothers got embroiled in a street fight on Wednesday night in the city with one of them being stabbed to death over an apparent financial debt. The alleged killer sibling was also injured and was arrested some two kilometres away in the Aguas Nuevas area. He was taken to Torrevieja Hospital, and then given an ambulance ride yesterday morning to appear in court.

According to eye­witness reports, the drama involving the two Indian men unfolded around 9.00pm on Wednesday evening, in the Calvario area of the city on Calle Clemente Gosálvez. The accused man parked his car and pressed the front door bell of the victim’s home, and asked him via the intercom to come outside. The 31 year old home owner then appeared, and then a brawl ensued with the visitor allegedly using a large knife to stab the victim, before fleeing the scene in his car.

Local police and Guardia Civil offi­ cers found a man lying in a pool of blood and paramedics were unable to

revive him (pictured in the ambulance) due to the intensity of the injuries, as several vital organs had been punc­ tured by the knife, which was found next to the body. Eye­witnesses report several relatives of the dead man shouting and screaming at the scene of the incident.

The police arrested the alleged per­ petrator in the Avenida de La Mancha area of Aguas Nuevas, with some reports suggesting that he was head­ ing for an Indian restaurant that he owned there. Officers took the 39 year old to Torrevieja Hospital for treatment due to stab wounds in his arms and

legs, and he stayed there overnight under guard. He was then carted off yesterday morning by ambulance for a preliminary appearance at the Torrevieja courthouse, before being taken back to hospital. The victim’s body was taken to the Anatomical Forensic Institute for an autopsy. The younger brother, according to reports, was also involved in the hospitality industry and was unmarried, whilst his older sibling is the father of three chil­ dren, with his wife quoted as saying that the alleged attack apparently hap­ pened over money that her husband felt was owed to him.

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Friday 30th January 2015

TELEPHONE

966 921 003 679 096 309 E­MAIL office@thecourier.es WEB www.thecourier.es HEAD OFFICE C/ Luis Canovas Martinez 03183 Torrevieja Phone: 966 921 003 Email: office@thecourier.es OPENING HOURS Mon ­ Fri 1030 to 1600 EDITOR Alex Trelinski LAYOUT & DESIGN James Bone ADVERTISING SALES 966 921 003 office@thecourier.es TELESALES 966 921 003 679 096 309

A WARM WELCOME

Costa Blanca tourist spokesman Joaquín Albaladejo has used Spain’s biggest tourist fair to target visitors from European countries looking for some low season warmth! Albaladejo, the Tourism deputy for the Alicante Provincial Council(pictured right of centre in the front), said that the region needs to focus on getting more visitors from France and Poland in 2015, as well as building on the well­established base of UK, Central European, and Scandinavian holiday­makers.

This week’s international FITUR trade fair in Madrid was officially opened on Wednesday by the King and Queen of Spain and has over nine thousand companies and regions represented from around the world, taking in 165 countries. FITUR normally attracts some 200 thousand international visitors, most of which work in the holiday and travel industry, and runs until this Sunday (February 1st).

The Costa Blanca stand saw Joaquín Albaladejo saying that the region was in a perfect position to attract visitors from countries that have harsh winters, and that a number of French people were making more frequent journeys to the region in the off­season to enjoy some milder weather.

He added that 2014 had been an excellent year for Alicante Province helped by the website: ­ Tu plan Costa Blanca, which allows both interna­ tional and domestic visitors to work out the best deals in the area.

Albaladejo also mentioned the record passenger numbers for Alicante­Elche

airport, adding that early indications and predictions are suggested that 2015 might be even better.

Many local municipalities from the Costa Blanca area like Guardamar and Torrevieja have been staging presentations at the region’s stand during the exhibition and announcing initiatives aimed at increasing tourist numbers. A similar stand publicising the Murcia region is also at FITUR with a strong emphasis on the Mar Menor.

PLANE MISTAKE

FALL OF DEATH

Nine French people were among 11 killed when a Greek fighter jet crashed during take­off at a base in Spain on Monday. The F­16 jet "lost power", crashing at Los Llanos air base in Albacete, and at least five other planes were damaged. One of the two Greek pilots had apparently per­ formed a wrong manoeuvre, with both pilots killed in the accident. Spanish officials said the jet had been participating in a NATO training exercise called the Tactical Leadership Programme (TLP). This is the worst military air tragedy on Spanish soil since 1984, when a Hercules from the USA crashed in the province of Zaragoza and all 18 occupants were killed out­ right.

A man died and three others were seriously injured after they fell from a bal­ cony in La Manga on Sunday night, after the railings gave way. The drama unfolded at around 5.30 pm at the property located at kilometre five on the strip when a table was being moved after they had had a meal. For reasons unknown, the balustrade collapsed taking four people some three metres down and they fell by the garage door.

A 65 year old man was unconscious when emergency services arrived and had gone into cardiac arrest, but despite every effort to revive him, lost his life at the scene. A woman in her sixties and two other men suffered multiple frac­ tures and bruises, and were taken to the Santa Lucía hospital in Cartagena, with only the women being kept in overnight for observation.

Sally Los Alcazares, San Javier Tel. 618 391 491 Myra Quesada, Rojales, Torrevieja, San Miguel Tel. 618 583 765 Jean La Zenia, Playa Flamenca, Cabo Roig Tel. 618 898 034 Patrick International Rep 5 Languages Tel. 685 901 265 Writers Sally Bengtsson Jeanette Erath Alex Trelinski Dave Silver Tony Mayes John McGregor Ivie Davies James Bone Peter Singh

TICKING AWAY

Flights at San Javier airport will stop when Corvera eventually opens for service, according to a meeting between officials in Madrid last Friday as reported by the La Verdad newspaper.

This is a change in policy when last year it was said that both facilities would run in tandem for a few months before San Javier shuts down. La Verdad reports that the Murcia Government wants the clock to start ticking for six months from the start of the award of an operating con­ tract for Corvera, which is being re­advertised next month. San Javier’s owners AENA have confirmed that they will be bidding for the Corvera franchise, but it wasn’t made clear whether they favoured a six month closure peri­ od for San Javier. Only last week, La Verdad reported on a whole new marketing campaign from AENA for the current airport with no refer­ ence whatsoever to Corvera.

Publication Published by TKO Media and Entertainment S.L. Printed by Localprint S.L Depósito legal A ­ 188 ­ 2014 The Courier, its publishers, members of staff and its agents do not accept responsibility for any readers letters or claims by advertisers nor can it be held responsible for any errors in advertise­ ments which are reproduced from poor artwork, low quality electronic data or inadequate instructions for text or other layout features. Further no responsibility is accepted for any loss or damage caused by an error, inaccuracy or non­ appearance of any advertisement, although all advertisements produced are checked prior to insertion. We regret that we cannot accept responsibility for more than ONE incorrect insertion and that no re­publication will be granted in the case of typographical or minor changes which do not affect the value of the advertisement. E&OE. NO PART OF THIS NEWSPAPER MAY BE REPRO­ DUCED WITHOUT THE WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE PUBLISHERS.

WANTED – MORE HEADLINE NEWS!

DO YOU have a story that might grab the headlines? What’s all the gossip about round your way? A spate of robberies, per­ haps – or maybe you’ve spotted a celebrity in the neighbourhood. Whether your news involves fire, police, ambulance, accidents

– or happier events like family weddings (particularly Golden and Diamond ones!), Just phone the Courier office on 966 921 003 or email office@thecourier.es We’re waiting for your call…and next week’s Front Page story.

Friday 30th January 2015

BUTANO BOOST

Falling energy prices mean that a Butano cylinder may fall as much as 20 per cent in price later this year. 2015 also sees the time when a subsidisation programme comes to an end from the government, which if it had not happened, would have seen the price of cylinder go up to around 23 euros last year as opposed to it being over 17 euros. The downward trend in energy costs has led experts to predict that a 12.5 kilo cylinder was cost around 14 euros by the end of the year.

PIPING UP

HAPPY DAYS

Spain's recovering economy could grow as much as 2.5 percent this year if oil prices and the euro stay low, according to the economics minister, Luis de Guindos. In an election year, he says the government’s tough austerity measures have started to strengthen the economy, which officially emerged from recession in 2013 and grew an estimated 1.4 percent in 2014. "If the oil price and the exchange rate stay at these levels, we will have additional growth of 0.5 percent­ age points, and that is a cautious estimate," Guindos said.

The government is due to release its updated official fore­ casts in April.

SPEEDY COLLAR

SHOCKING END

A bike rider, who should never have donned his helmet in the first place, got done for the full package after the Guardia Civil (pictured with the offending two­wheeler) caught him speeding at two and a half times over the limit north of Cartagena. The 28 year old speedster from La Union was clocked doing 125 kms an hour in a 50 kms zone on the F 37 route near Santa Ana, but to make matters worse, he was caught without insurance; an ITV certificate; and riding with­ out a license after being banned in the first place! He could be fined up to two and a half thousand euros for a catalogue of offences, as well as being jailed for six months or having community order imposed on him.

Two drug runners in a helicopter died early on Tuesday morning when the chopper crashed into an electricity pylon near Cortes del La Frontera in Malaga Province. A Guardia Civil helicopter had been scrambled to follow the aircraft after an unauthorised flight had been detected, but the crew lost sight of the helicopter and it returned to base. The Guardia then returned to the last known position of the drug­laden chopper and spotted the wreckage of the crashed aircraft. It is believed that it had collided with nearby electric pylon.

Around 30 packets of hashish weighing almost one thousand kilos was found.

Torrevieja’s salt industry is set to become a major tourist attraction after plans were officially unveiled at the International Tourism Fair (FITUR) in Madrid this week. A presentation was made on Wednesday at the Costa Blanca Tourist Board stand about Las Salinas which will have a vis­ itor centre based in the old coach house on Avenida Urbano Arreguias with tourist trains taking people around the salt sites by the natural park lakes. Other areas like the Mar Menor have also been represented at what is the country’s biggest tourism fair.

Catral’s Calle Santa Águeda area is getting a makeover with new drainage and water piping in addition to an upgrade of the pavements and other work. One of the key priorities has been to spend over 40 thousand euros renewing the drinking water pipes which had been made of asbestos­ based cement. The total cost of the work will be just under 200 thousand euros.

ABUSE QUIZ A Granada judge has charged 10 Roman Catholic priests and two Catholic lay workers with child sex abuse. The 12 are suspected of abusing four teenage boys between 2004 and 2007, the most serious offences occurring in a house used by the priests.

Pope Francis telephoned one of the alleged victims, now 24, in November to offer his apologies. He acted after the man, a former altar boy, wrote him a letter about the alleged abuse. The pontiff, who has pledged zero tolerance of child sex abuse, then ordered a Church investigation. Several arrests were made in November but the suspects are free on bail.

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SALT OF THE EARTH

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Friday 30th January 2015

FREE APP

Mobile phones and tablets can access some new soft­ ware to learn about local services across Alicante Province. MunicipApp fea­ tures street maps of munici­ palities as well as details of attractions; duty chemists; and direct access to town hall websites. It is available for iOS and Android in both Spanish and Valenciano, with some 77 local municipal­ ities already taking part, helped by the Alicante Provincial Council.

STAND & DELIVER

NO PROBLEM

Valencia’s Health Minister, Manuel Llombart, says there are fewer cases of flu this year on the Costa Blanca com­ pared to a year ago. He added that there are fewer severe cases in local hospitals and that the flu strain is less virulent than last year, coupled with the fact that up to four per cent more people had been vaccinated compared to 2014. His remarks come on the back of various hospitals in Alicante Province reporting overcrowding and with beds being put into corridors due to extra admissions caused by more flu cases.

Llombart said that the number of flu victims should peak by the second week of February.

OFFLOAD TIME

Horrified shoppers were held at gunpoint for around ten minutes as four masked robbers stole money from a Chinese Shop in Los Altos, Torrevieja. The drama happened last Saturday shortly after the store opened for business, with the crooks handcuffing two workers and also taking eight cus­ tomers hostage as they stole the contents of a safe and a till, as well as purses and wallets. The thieves then fled the scene in a black Chrysler Voyager car.

CASE TO ANSWER

A man was in the dock this week accused of molesting a seven year old friend of his son whilst he was meant to be helping him with his homework. The incidents involving the boy are said to have happened in 2011 and 2012, with the case being held behind closed doors at Alicante Provincial Court to help protect the identity of the alleged victim.

Prosecutors have called for an 11 year jail sentence but the accused man from the Vinalopó Medio area of Alicante Province has pleaded not guilty to charges.

FLOAT ON

Shares in the owner of San Javier and Alicante­Elche air­ ports, AENA, have gone on sale from last Friday (January 23rd) with the Spanish government flogging off 49 per cent of the stock, with 21 per cent already being sold to three pre­ selected owners, including the British charity, The Children’s Investment Trust who will get six point five per cent. AENA is the largest airport governing body in the world, transporting nearly 196 million passengers per year – based upon figures for 2014 – through its 46 terminals, and also manages anoth­ er 15 airports in other countries.

Telefónica is to sell its British holding, O2, and will leave the UK market altogether. Initial talks with potential O2 buyer, the Hong Kong­based Hutchinson Whampoa Group (owners of the Three network), have taken place and Telefónica is expected to agree on a sale price of over 13 billion euros.

Sky are also said to have shown an interest in buying O2.

Telefónica wants to reduce its debts further as well as con­ solidating its presence in mainland Europe and Latin America.

SHOCKING CLAIM

Rojales streetlights are said to be potential killers accord­ ing to the Pader political group on Rojales council. They claim that many of the lights have not been earthed properly around the municipality including those in playground areas like the Malecón del Soto. Pader spokesman, Desiderio Aráez, raised the matter at a recent council meeting and mentioned that the company overseeing the lighting had writ­ ten to the council saying that there were earthing problems and that they were “solving the issue as soon as possible”.

Aráez asked for clarification as to who was responsible for the situation and for immediate action to be taken by the cur­ rent PSOE administration.

FAIR SNIFF A 45 year old female drug smuggler was literally caught with her pants down as a dog sniffed out where she had stashed some of her supplies in a search at Alicante Bus Station. The moronic Moroccan thought she could outsmart the crafty canine during a random inspection of the bus which was en route from Almeria to Valencia, but the dog detected the booty, amounting to some two and a half kilos of hashish which was wedged between her knickers and a special nappy that she was wearing.

CONSUL CONSULTS

Alicante’s new con­ sul has had her first public engagement in the area since getting the job late last year, and she’s been rub­ bing shoulders with the British Community in San Fulgencio. Sarah­ Jane Morris is running the Alicante consulate in a combined role with Northern Spain from her Madrid office, and she joined Alicante Vice Consul Lloyd Milen for the first of a series of meetings that the Consulate will be having across the area this year.

British ex­pats who went to this week’s San Fulgencio focus group raised a variety of issues, including the difficul­ ties they face in getting accurate, up­to­date information on their rights and responsibilities when living in Spain, and how best to plan for the future. Further focus groups are planned for Orihuela, Torrevieja, Rojales, and Pilar de la Horadada.

Sarah­Jane Morris said: “It has been really valuable for me to get the chance to listen to the concerns of the British com­ munity here. My job is to make sure that those concerns do reach the ears of those who need to hear them, be that the UK or Spanish authorities”.

IN THE ZONE

PIPPED OFF A 52 year old Italian has been arrested in Almoradi and accused of not paying for 32 tons of mandarins. The Guardia Civil hauled him up in front of an Orihuela judge for not coughing up nearly 11 thousand euros to a Bigastro farmer, who clearly saw orange for being left out of pocket.

Internet users around Torrevieja will able to get more infor­ mation on local services via an expansion of Wi­Fi zones in the area. The work to be done by Televisión Costa Blanca SL will give free access to a range of council information and services, as well as voluntary organisations. A pilot scheme will be rolled out in areas like the Plaza de la Constitución and Paseo Vista Alegre, in addition to the Plaza de Encarnación Puchol in La Mata. All major devices will be able to pick up the service which will also take in La Mata beach during the summer, as well as Playa de Los Náufragos and Playa del Cura during the high season.

Friday 30th January 2015

EL PAPA’S NO

Pope Francis won’t be coming to Spain this year because he doesn’t want to interfere with the local and national elections, according to the national Episcopal Conference leader Ricardo Blázquez. The Pontiff was asked to come over as part of the fifth centenary celebra­ tions of the birth of Saint Teresa in 1515. Although the Pope says he will be follow­ ing the celebrations 'very closely', he did say that he hopes visit Spain at a later date.

BETTER BOARDWALK

Work on repairing the southern section of the boardwalk at La Mata beach, Torrevieja, is in top gear. The late autumn storms caused structural damage and a subsidy from the Ministry of Environment has helped to pay for renovating a 70 metre stretch of the popular walk for locals and tourists alike.

LIFE’S A DRAG

Debu from Torremolinos was the queen of the ball in Torrevieja last weekend after winning the National Drag Queen contest staged at the Municipal Theatre. The glitzy evening was all part of the Torrevieja Carnival for 2015, with Debu picking up a one thousand euro cheque for her efforts. She and the runners­up will take part in the Carnival Parade on Sunday February 8th.

SUITS HIM

The former King of Spain, Juan Carlos, has agreed to supply DNA to be used in a paternity suit filed by 45­year­ old Belgian divorcée Ingrid Jeanne Sartiau (pictured). The mother­of­two recently said she her own mother had had an affair with Juan Carlos which had 'gone on for some time' and 'was more than just a fling', and that the abdicated Monarch knew when she was born and spoke to her mum on the phone.

Ingrid has the results of a DNA test which shows, with a 91% reliability rate, that she is the half­sister of Barcelona waiter Alberto Solà on his father's side ­ and Alberto has DNA results showing, with a 99% certainty level, that he is King Juan Carlos' illegitimate son. But the Supreme Court has rejected Solà's paternity claim, even though it has accepted Ingrid's ­ possibly because of the repercussions for the Royal family.

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Friday 30th January 2015

CHIP SHOP FRIES AND PORKY PIES

I ONCE attempted to drive up the steep main street of Haworth, Yorkshire, oblivi­ ous to the signs which said one must not drive up the steep main street of Haworth.

I almost made it, too, in my clapped­out car. Still, it was fortunate that the Bronte family weren't around or surely they would have remonstrated with me for disturbing their Sunday peace.

The following weekend, I took the family to Lymm, Cheshire, where Mrs S was chased down the street by an elderly lady after my mis­ sus, in a moment of moral dereliction, picked some flowers from the pretty front garden of a house. I believe that the irate pensioner was the mother of the Rev Terry Waite.

'There you go again!' snapped Mrs S the other evening. 'Every time you say anything you have to drop in the name of somebody famous. It is really irritating.'

'Funnily enough,' I said, 'George Clooney told me the same thing when we were chatting in the queue at the chippy last Sunday.'

Mrs S glared at me. 'I'm being serious,' she com­ mented coldly.

'So am I,' I retorted. 'I WAS definitely standing in the queue at the chippy.

Indeed, I am descended from a long line of queuers.'

I ducked just in time to avoid the flying kettle which whistled over my head. 'You can make your own mug of tea,' said Mrs S. 'I'm off to bingo with Phyllis.'

For the benefit of new

went off to bingo, leaving me at a loose e n d .

A f t e r retriev­ ing my dented kettle from the s i d e ­ board, I m a d e myself a mug of tea and switched on the telly. But some­ t h i n g was nig­ gling at me.

'Hey, old buddy, what are you doing?' I enquired.

'I'm just watching a piece of tumbleweed blow across the street on my television screen,' chortled Spike. 'I keep pausing, rewinding and pressing play on my remote control to watch it over and over again. It really is quite fascinating.'

Resisting a desire to end the call and crawl into bed, I said: 'Do you fancy coming round for a mug of tea until the girls get back from bingo.'

There was a brief silence and then Spike stuttered: 'Er . . . I'd really rather not if it's all the same to you.'

'Why's that, Spike?' I asked, genuinely puzzled.

'Because, if you don't mind me being frank, every time you open your mouth

After allowing the soapy events of Weatherfield and Walford to wash over me, I realised what it was. I was feeling guilty about what I'd just revealed to you, my readers, about Spike.

Let's face it, we all have our idiosyncrasies. So what if Spike WAS the most bor­ ing person in the galaxy?

Didn't we each deserve our common share of humanity?

Who was I to put down a fel­ low human being simply because he spoke absolute­ ly nothing of interest?

I picked up the phone and dialled Spike's residence.

you start to name­drop. I mean you told my Phyllis that the famous moving­pic­ tures actor George Clooney was in the fish and chip shop the other day. Now she not only refuses to cook but insists on going out for jumbo sausage every teatime.'

'But I was only having a laugh,' I pointed out, feeling somewhat deflated.

'It might be side­splittingly waggish to you, my friend,' said Spike, 'but if you don't mind me saying so, David, you're beginning to sound tiresomely boring.'

readers, Phyllis is Mrs S's best mate. For regular read­ ers, the same relationship details apply.

Phyllis is okay but her husband Spike is the most boring man in . . . well, any­ where. It's no wonder that Phyllis tries to get out of the house as often as she can in the evenings. Spending more than five minutes with Spike will render a person numbed or hysterical or both.

Of course, Mrs S is quite content to stay at home in the evenings because I'm always out at the pub ­­ but never, ever with Spike.

Actually, I did take Spike into the hostelry once (and only once) but Dave the bar­ man begged me never to repeat the offence. As Spike had got started on his favourite subject ­­ the

Telegraph Poles of Great Britain ­­ the pub began slowly but surely to empty.

Within minutes there were only me and Dave the bar­ man left listening (allegedly) to Spike's dreary monotone.

Even Fag Ash Bill, who prefers to stay outside smoking his ciggies, dived into the pub to drag out Ol' Red Eyes who was begging frantically to be rescued from Spike's ceaseless ora­ tion as he lay helplessly in his customary position on the floor.

It was around that time I got the idea of recording one

of Spike's boring discourses and releasing it on a CD for any householders bothered by unwelcome cats, dogs, foxes and even moles in their gardens. All folk would have to do was to open their windows and press the play button. No creature would stay around long enough to cause nuisance.

Unfortunately, I first had to submit my plan to the animal welfare authorities which ruled Spike's monologues too cruel to be endured by any species of beast.

Anyway, back to the other evening. Mrs S and Phyllis

Friday 30th January 2015

THINK YOUR PENSION IS TOO SMALL TO TRANSFER? THINK AGAIN!

I recently met with a client who had never considered a pension transfer because he had a company pension scheme and was only with his employer for 3 years. He guessed that his pension fund would be worth around 3k to 5k and not worth transfer­ ring. After contacting his company and applying for a pension transfer quotation we found out that the value of his pension fund was actually 37,000 pounds. He decided to QROPS his pension and take a lump sum. Another client thought his pension was a moderate 25,000 pounds and after investigation it turned out to be worth over 90,000 pounds.

I am staggered at how valuable these seemingly small pension pots are. Time and time again I see so called "small pension pots" turn out to be large pension funds.

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Another client of mine who was in a company pension scheme for 8 years had a pen­ sion transfer value of 120,000 pounds.

If you have a pension fund and you have dismissed the idea of a pension transfer because you consider your fund will be too small then please think again. You may also have a “lost pension” that you have not pursued because you thought the pension will be “too little to bother with”. I urge you to dig out any information that you have on these valuable pensions and come and see me. You may be surprised at how much they are worth. I will be happy to give you advice on what cash lump sum and income that you would receive if you transferred your pension to either a SIPP or a QROPS. Please contact me in the first instance on 965 704 338 or mark.harrison@aesinternational.com.

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Friday 30th January 2015

GREAT BALLS OF TASTE

HAVING A BLAST

The aroma of traditional cooking will be wafting its way across Torrevieja’s Centro Municipal de Ocio (CMO) this Saturday with meatballs and stews aplenty in the second International Stew contest that has attracted 20 entries.

Traditional dishes from across Spain including Murcia and the Vega Baja will be featured in addition to an international flavour from Romania and Argentina. The contest has been organised by the Cofradía del Cocido con Pelotas de Torrevieja, whose Grand Master, José Bañuls officially launched this year’s competition along with Torrevieja coun­ cillor, Inmaculada Montesinos.

Santiago de La Ribera celebrates the patron saint of the sore throat, San Blas, with a full programme of events that start tomorrow. The local commemorations were revived as recently as 1980 with the official feast day being this Monday, but the San Blas/La Calavera forest will host a rock concert tomorrow(Saturday) with a big focus on Sunday with the horse parades starting from midday, as well as a giant paella and the traditional barbecues under the pine trees. The events will carry on through Monday and Tuesday, with the pilgrimage from the church in Santiago de la Ribera to the San Blas chapel, in what was the oldest part of the San Javier municipality. Many of those taking part will wear the colourful “huertana” costumes, reminding party goers of the religious side of the fiesta.

TOWING THE LINE

A Tarragona couple has been fined for speed­ ing – whilst their car was on the back of a rescue truck! Sònia Mirambell, from Calafell in southern Catalunya says she and her husband suffered car troubles whilst driving in Andorra and had to call out the breakdown truck.

This was back in September, and the couple returned home themselves in a taxi. They thought nothing of it until a week ago when they received a 'second' reminder to pay a speeding fine of 100 euros for the same day. The fine notice said the car had been travelling at 83 kilo­ metres per hour on a stretch of the N­420a near Riudecols, an area with a speed limit of 70 kilo­ metres per hour.

Sra Mirambell said the first notification of the fine appeared to have become lost in the post, since 'an awful lot of letters go astray' in the area she lives in. But the second notice arrived just one day before the three­month deadline for appealing against the fine. They went to the traffic department in Tarragona city on the same day to file an appeal, asking for a picture of the car speeding. The photo showed it on top of the tow truck. According to staff at the traffic desk, the tow truck had been travelling at 83 kilometres per hour, which meant the car was being transported at that speed, even though it was not being driven and was not even switched on.

The couple was told that the tow truck had an Andorra reg­

istration number, which means the Catalunya regional traffic authorities were not able to issue its driver with a fine and therefore chose to sanction the owners of the car on top of it instead. They have had to pay the 100 euros, since the deadline was last Friday, after which interest would be applied. If the letter had arrived just one day later, they would not have been able to appeal even if they had proof that the fine was incorrect or illegal. Contesting a fine can cost up to 200 euros in court fees, which is normally the same sum as the fine itself or, in the case of Sra Mirambell and her hus­ band, double the amount.

GALLOPING HOME

An unusual sight greeted motorists driving through Carballo, in Galicia, last Saturday, when a horse took to the streets in an attempt to find her way back to its previous owner. The daredevil horse, named Linda, galloped through red lights in the centre of the town, ignoring the cries of its current owner, who was running behind it, according to local newspaper, La Voz de Galicia.

The horse’s destination was her previous home, a farm about an hour outside of the town, where the mare had lived until the prop­ erty was sold to a neighbour three months ago. Onlookers alerted local police, who, along with the animal’s current owner, tried to stop the horse from causing an accident.

While neither police nor her current owner could stop Linda, the horse finally slowed down as it reached its previous home: the farm where it had grown up. Police asked for docu­ ments to prove who was the rightful owner of Linda with local news sources reported that she is about to be sold for a third time.

VOLUNTEER CLARITY

Extra protection for people working as volunteers has been approved by the Spanish Parliament, as part of a new law. Many British nationals figure amongst some six million people who do voluntary work in Spain, ranging from running charity shops to animal rescue groups and general fund­rais­ ing.

This is the first time legisla­ tion covering such work has been updated in over 20 years, and during that time volunteers have dramatically increased in number and awareness has rocketed. The new volunteering law pre­ vents anyone with a convic­ tion for child abuse or domes­ tic violence from taking part in any programme, charity or association, but allows under­ 18s to do so provided they have their parents' or guardians' permission and it does not interfere with their education or paid work.

All work undertaken must be at the wishes of the volun­ teer him or herself and be unpaid – neither in cash nor

in kind ­ in order to be cov­ ered by the legislation, which also extends to include chari­ ties and associations on Spanish territory working overseas.

Communications and sup­ port from public institutions, such as local councils and regional and central govern­ ments will become more available to volunteer organi­ sations. But political and administrative bodies are not permitted to promote volun­ teer initiatives to replace pub­ lic services which they are obliged to provide – meaning medical charities or humani­ tarian organisations cannot be used as an 'excuse' to avoid funding health centres and their staff or to cut expenses in social services.

The law does not cover 'isolated or sporadic' volun­ teering acts outside of regis­ tered associations and chari­ ties, nor those carried out to help family members or friends, or any which are directly linked to a profession, to scholarships or academic study and vocational training.

THE PERFECT G&T

A Valencia city bar has entered the Guinness Book of World Records for its huge variety of exotic gins. The Doce Gin Club ('Twelve Gin Club') in the Cánovas area of the city started off with 112 varieties, then grew to 212 and, by the time it reached 450, had earned its world record. Now, the bar has 518 varieties, but needs to reach 612 to continue with its 'Doce' or 'Twelve' tradition, says owner Jorge Bataller.

Some of these are extremely rare, others come from unlikely corners of the world, whilst some were created in bathtubs, some at temperatures of double figures below zero, and one is even made with flecks of 24­carat gold.

The bar's range includes limited edition Bombay Sapphire and Beefeater which are no longer manufactured, plus the Castellón­made Ginself, made with tiger nuts – the main ingredient in the sweet, milky drink typical of Valencia, hor­ chata, and the Spirit of Hven, which is the only gin on the menu in the Danish Noma Restaurant, considered the world's best eatery in 2014.

Barista Javier Borja(pictured) says gin and tonic mixers should be made by pouring the gin from a height so as to trap oxygen, and the tonic poured over a spoon to prevent the bubbles from bursting. The mix is normally 5cc of gin and 20cc of tonic or, when making up different sizes of drink, four parts tonic to one part gin, he revealed. A typical gin­and­ tonic mixer at the Doce Gin Club costs eight euros, although some are more expensive where they are unique blends – particularly the one made with flakes of 24­carat gold.

Friday 30th January 2015

9

10

Friday 30th January 2015

LOCAL LOOK-IN LISTEN VERY CAREFULLY...

Rene and his friends got people laughing out loud as the Campoverde Theatre Group played to a packed house for their supper show Ello, Ello, It’s Christmas at the Lo Monte Hotel at Pilar de la Horadada. The play written and directed by Vida Nelson, incorporated many of the well­known catchphrases from the Allo, Allo TV show which also had a new story line to the comedy classic. The group are next turning to variety for “Let Us Entertain You!”, and new members are always welcome. If you can sing, dance, act or work back stage, then phone 626 772 256 for more details.

DICK’S COMING

Studio 32 have wasted no time in announcing that their pantomime at the end of the year will be Dick Whittington, and that’s in addition to their summer production of the classic musical, Oklahoma. During January, the group has been staging a variety of workshops under the auspices of Susan Wilson and Linda Myers looking stage craft, acting skills, dancing and team building. A singing workshop is also planned for Sunday February 15th, with new mem­ bers more than welcome to pop in for rehearsals and a chat at Casa Ventura, San Luis, Torrevieja every Wednesday from 3.30pm or a Sunday morning from 11.00am.

To keep up to date with Studio32 productions and events visit their web site www.studio­ thirtytwo.org

AMMA’S BOOST

SHE DID GO TO THE BALL

A bumper three thousand euros was raised for local char­ ities thanks to the recent Rojales Pantomime Group pro­ duction of Cinderella. The Group will decide in the next few weeks who the beneficiar­ ies will be and they’re already on the lookout for more people to join them for their next fes­ tive treat. Cinderella was direct­ ed by Christine Smith and proved to be a great success with fine performances across the cast including from Lynden B and Andy Jones as The Ugly Sisters. Give Mandy a call on 685 302 529 if you want to hook up with the Rojales group.

The recently­formed San Pedro del Pinatar­based Alzheimer’s/Stroke charity, AMMA, has got a major lift with the news that the Iceland store in San Javier will be the main sponsors for the group this year. AMMA is about helping people who suffer from Alzheimer’s or other debilitating illnesses or traumas such as strokes, and there will now be a representative from them at the store every Sunday to talk about their work and to give out leaflets and advice.

Iceland will also publicise AMMA’s fund­raising efforts for 2015.

The Day Centre for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients is going from strength to strength and meets at San Pedro’s Pensioner Club twice a week on Wednesday and Friday mornings from 9.30am to 12.30pm with over 10 patients attending. For more details, phone Louise Innes on 965 322 614.

A SPANGLING GOOD TIME

The Torrevieja­based Velvetones are back in rehearsal after their recent seasonal break and they had a fun session as they were joined by The Spangles from Los Alcazares. It was an enjoyable two hour session of the voices blending together from the two choirs, ahead of a busy year in front of

both of them. If you are interested in joining the Velvetones, then they meet at El Paraiso, behind Carrefour and McDonalds in Torrevieja, every Wednesday morning from 9.45am. For more information call Ena on 965 707 598, or visit the website www.velvetones.org

Meanwhile the award­winning Spangles Ladies’Harmony Chorus was formed in 2004 with just five members. They meet at the Las Claras Centre in Los Narejos, Los Alcázares, every Thursday morning from 10.00 am and there are more details on their website, spangleschorus.com

11

Friday 30th January 2015

NO PUSSY FOOTING

I read with interest last week’s report on Crevillente introducing DNA testing for poop left by irresponsible dog owners. I myself do not own a dog, but believe there is a very high proportion of owners who do clean up any mess. Here in Campoverde, the streets may not be paved with gold but also they are very clean and not paved with poop!

Now I turn to the gardeners of Campoverde as I'll bet there isn't a garden

RIP OFF HIRE

When we recently went to our Playa Flamenca property we booked a hire car via Economy Car Rentals with “Firefly” at San Javier Airport. We paid a deposit of just over 50 euros on­line to Economy but when we got to “Firefly” reception, they said they knew nothing about it. Despite us sending count­ that at some time has not been plagued less e­mails to Economy, they could not tell with feline vermin mess and whose owners us where our deposit went and have refused couldn't care less where their pets leave us a refund. The total cost of the Vauxhall their maggoty balls of fluff crap!

Corsa that we hired came to a staggering So my point..... If you can DNA test dog 347 euros for a fortnight’s hire, which was mess, you can also DNA test cat mess! Or well above anything that we paid to other are there double standards at work? So companies! gardeners, remember to keep your cat To add insult to injury, the car itself was mess and hand it in to the nearest police dirty; the interior smelt badly; the seats were station for forensic testing. stained/soiled; the interior of the windscreen Terry Morgan, Campoverde. was filthy making visibility in the dark poor;

and there were numerous other defects that did not make the Corsa “fit for purpose”. We told “Firefly” about the problems and they promised to note our concern in their records. When we returned the vehicle to the airport, they refused a refund and told us they had no knowledge of any complaint to their staff. We were told to contact Hertz UK who own “Firefly” but despite numerous calls, we got no satisfaction. “Firefly” did eventually apologise for the state of the car but have refused any compensation on the basis/excuse that we had used the vehicle!

Customer care from these companies was non­existent and based on our experiences, I would give them a very wide berth!

Michael Norminton, Playa Flamenca / Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire.

at night using the Mar Menor as a ´dump­ ing´ground (pardon the pun).Where do they empty their domestic rubbish?

Obviously in bins provided for the ratepay­ ers!

Last week’s Courier mentioned the “huge contribution to the economy by shopping at LIDL and DIA (German & French owners), but there was no mention of shopping in Mercadonna, our Spanish supermarket!

We would suggest that it´s now time our local council got their act together and start either charging Campervans 24hr or weekly parking or move them on with con­ tinuous monitoring(After all the Council could do with the income!. Once these Campervan owners know they have to pay, perhaps they will park up on a camp site like most people do when they are touring and pay for the privilege of using the camp site´s water, sewerage and rubbish dispos­ al?

Lorraine and Keith Della, Los Alcazares

chairs on a car park instead of paying to go on a campsite? I have even seen vans come in for just one night just to use the washing machine and collect water. OK they are still sitting in the sun which is what they come for but for people from every nationality to do this is beyond me. I met a lady once who proudly said she had never paid any money for years to stay with her van.

Mrs. J. Thomas, La Marina

UNLOVED CAMPERS

We have lived in Los Alcazares for nine years and during that time the number of camper vans has increased. As you walk along the promenade (especially in the autumn/winter months) you see them all lined up as near to the beach as possible, usually parked on side roads or on first line on the beach road. I have even seen them using the closed static beach bars as shel­ ters with chairs, tables, etc. under the wooden awnings.

My main issue with the campervans is whether they pay local rates? Do they pay for water? Do they pay for sewerage dis­ posal? Presuming they don’t pay rates to the local offices, they obviously don´t pay for refuse disposal either! I know they quite possibly buy drinking water but I have seen occupants of these campervans on the beach filling their large water contain­ ers from the showers on the beach!

Obviously at no cost to them.

Where do they empty their toilet waste?

Reliable sources frequently seen them late

Last week’s article about camper vans brings me to the 30 or so that are parked on a concrete car park at Platja del Pinet (La Marina). OK so there were no signs or any rubbish but where do they put their dirty water and toilet waste??? I see them getting fresh water from a tap in the village but I can­ not understand why after paying several hundred pounds to buy one of these campervans, why they prefer to sit in their

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Friday 30th January 2015

MY SPECIAL BAND OF FRIENDS We always have a house full of rescue animals that we are looking for forever loving homes for, but this week, I thought I would give you a quick rundown on some of our own dogs and the lives they led before being rescued by us.

Lola, is a female German Shepherd, who was badly abused as a puppy. I first met her at a rescue centre in London where I was a vol­ unteer and they asked if I would work with her, as she was terrified of men. My first memory of Lola, was her sit­ ting in the middle of this huge kennel, just so that no human could come near her.

I started working with her and we bonded pretty much right from the start. Two days later she was my dog and laying with me on the couch at home!

Pedro Rodriguez, is a tiny little terrier mixed dog and he was found dumped in a cardboard box, with three of his siblings. I first set eyes on Pedro, when he was about five weeks old, in another rescue centre and all I can remember is that he kept looking at me and try­

DANI

ing to follow me, wherever I went. I remember as I walked away, he climbed the cage of his kennel, as a cat would climb a tree, just to keep looking at me.

He was the size of a kitten.

He is now five years old and has more character than Paul Gascoigne did in his prime! He is my little right hand man and still follows me everywhere.

He is an amazing spirit and he may be small, but he is hugely respected by all the other dogs in our house.

Then we have Sanchez Rodriguez. Sanchez was dumped at a market, after people were trying to sell him and his siblings. All of his brothers and sisters were sold and he was the only one that no one want­ ed, so they left him at the market, wondering around all on his own at five weeks old. He is another terrier cross and looks very much like Chewbacca, from the Star Wars movies! His ener­ gy is simply amazing and he is such a calm dog, that he was working with me when he was seven months old on consultations with my clients

Mabel in hospital dogs, who needed help.

Next is Ria, who is a German Shepherd mix. I first set eyes on Ria and her siblings and mother, in a Murcia rescue centre. They were all so dirty and covered in their own feces, that you could not even make out what colour they were! To add to that they all had dis­

temper. I knew if I did not rescue them, they would all die. Three of them did, because they were so weak, but thankfully we ended up saving the rest of them, with the help of my good friend Anne Benferri and her lovely husband. All of them found new homes in London and Ria stayed with me.

Lima is a Podenco mixed dog and she was severely abused when she was a puppy.

Someone broke her two front legs and when I res­ cued her from Granada, she was terrified, and it was desperate to watch.

Now she is an extremely happy member of our family and her confidence has blossomed since the first day I met her. We call her the Ginger Ninja, because when she wins the ball, that is it, as it belongs to her for the rest of the walk! The trust she now has in us is truly hum­ bling and we are simply honoured to have this girl.

Phoenix has only been with us for three weeks now and he will be a sanc­ tuary dog and will stay with us for the rest of his life, after the horrific abuse he went through. He was beaten with shovels and buried alive and we are working each day to get him back to health. He cannot walk yet on his own, but we are really hoping in the next month he will begin to walk again unaided.

Our house is a house full

of animals that have been severely abused and they are now living a very happy and peaceful life. They include Gizmo, the cat with­ out a tail; Dot, the kitten with three legs, after she was hit by a car; and Mabel, a deaf and blind German Shepherd puppy, with her disabilities caused by someone hitting her on her head. We are truly honoured and humbled to do the work we do and bringing a spark back into the eyes of these once lost souls. It is the most reward­ ing thing, Jean and I have ever done in our entire lives. www.thedogyouneed.com is a registered charity, where we rehabilitate the most severely abused animals.

Our charity registration num­ ber is 1157175. If you would be kind enough to donate anything to this special cause you can do by Paypal, where the account details are peter@thedogy­ ouneed.com or to our Nat West charity account, where the sort code is 60­16­03 and the account number is 73754900. When donating via Paypal, can you please choose the option, personal payment or gift. Thank you.

PETS CORNER : CAN YOU TAKE IN A HOMELESS DOG OR CAT?

Alf is about two years old, very placid and about the size of a spaniel so is a medium to small young man. Alf really is lovely and would make someone a very loyal companion.

Please phone K9 on 600 845 420 or for more details go to www.k9club.es

and would make a wonderful addition to any family. For more information about Belle please telephone the PEPA helpline on 650 304 746 or email p.e.p.a.ani­ malcharity@gmail.com

Born in October 2012, Martha and her seven broth­ ers were found as puppies in a cardboard box. She is still living in the APAH kennels waiting for her first loving home. To meet her, please call 630 422 563 or 616 210 850.

BELLE

ALF Belle is a small lab cross and was found wandering in La Font d’En Carros. Belle is a friendly happy girl comes up to you wagging her tail and she clearly just wants to be loved, and enjoys going for her walks. Belle is ready to go to a home of her own,

Jimmy is a three year old Chihuahua cross and was found last week full of fleas and underweight. He has been to the vets and is neg­ ative for all Mediterranean diseases. Jimmy is good with other dogs and cats and will make a wonderful com­ panion. Call: 645 469 253. www.petsinspain.com

JIMMY

MARTHA Marvin has been with us since he was born, and is now a big pup who is looking for his forever home. He loves giving you cuddles and is great with the other dogs and cats he is fostered with. He lives inside a home so is familiar with all the rules. He is stunning to look at and very intelligent. For more information on Marvin please telephone the P.E.P.A. helpline on 650 304 746 or email p.e.p.a.ani­ malcharity@gmail.com

CALLING ALL ANIMAL CHARITIES...

MARVIN Mistie is a spritely much loved eight year old female looking for a new home, as her owner has to return to the UK due to bereavement, and she herself is in poor health. Mistie is good with children, cats and other dogs, and stands around 14 inches tall, and has a longish coat and is very clean. She is in good health and has been spayed and is up­to­date with all her injec­ tions. Can you give her a loving home? Please con­ tact Linda on 965 725 794 or visit the website, www.ani­ malaidcostablanca.org

MISTIE

Please send details of Dogs or Cats needing a home to office@thecourier.es We try to feature as many as we can each week.

We also love hearing about the animals featured here!

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Friday 30th January 2015

ON THE BACK FOOT

To adapt Corporal Jones’s phrase from Dad’s Army, UKIP leader Nigel Farage doesn’t like it up him! Having gloated in the autumn about two Tory MPs defecting and holding their seats at by­elections, Farage has had to put up with one of his Euro MPs switching to the Tories and saying that UKIP had no policies and that the party was in effect an one­man cheerleading group for Farage himself. Amjad Bashir added that UKIP was a vanity project for Farage who ran things like a dicta­ tor and that the party was amateur­ ish. The normally adept UKIP boss looked uneasy having to field questions about Bashir’s defection but he’s going to have to get used to things like this up to polling day for the General Election on May 7th. Labour have meanwhile uncovered a video showing UKIP’s general secretary saying that the NHS was “the biggest waste of money in the UK”, and that the party should “stand up for bigots”.

Admittedly the footage was record­ ed in 2010 but it shows that unex­ pected banana skins are likely to appear in the next four months. Farage will have to show what he is made of and that means not just being a dumping bucket for disillusioned Tory and Labour voters, and that he actually does have

something of a united party behind, which at the moment it appears he doesn’t.

I never liked ex­Home Secretary Leon Brittan who died last week, with the former Tory minister never looking as he could be on the same level as ordinary people when he was

in Thatcher’s cabinet back in the eighties. During that time, I heard all kinds of gossip and rumour from my Westminster contacts that Brittan was involved in a sex scandal that was conveniently “buried under the car­ pet”. Before his death last week, sto­ ries started to re­appear again includ­ ing those of dossiers that disappeared during his time as Home Secretary.

Labour MP, Tom Watson, went further last weekend by saying those people who heaped tributes on Brittan (I didn’t hear that many) were like those who gushed praise in the aftermath of the death of the pedophile, Jimmy Savile. In a previous Courier column, I wrote about the campaigning Tory MP, the late Geoffrey Dickens, who was convinced about a sex­ring involving senior politicians and he was ridiculed and treated as a fool by the political establishment as he tried to get peo­ ple to listen to him. I suspect there’s a real nest of vipers in this Leon Brittan story, and it will need a strong stick to prod it to avoid any nasty bites.

Watch Europe squirm as the far­left wing party Syriza won Sunday’s Greek election promising to end aus­ terity. They fell just short of a parliamentary majority but they’ve done a deal with a right­wing anti­bail out party.

Power brings strange bed­fellows and this could be an inter­ esting preview of what happens in Spain later this year.

14

Friday 30th January 2015

WE ARE OVER AN OIL BARREL ALTHOUGH it has gone unnoticed as such, the Third World War is happening right now, but not with the use of traditional weapons, but with money and oil, and it´s already affecting all of us. It´s currently sav­ ing a fortune for us when we fill up at the petrol pumps, and savings will be filter­ ing through in energy costs, airline flights and cruises. Brilliant, I hear you saying! But there´s a far more sin­ ister side and it could pose big trouble.

It´s all been brought about

by America harnessing fuel from shale gas develop­ ment. It drastically reduced the need to import oil, and drove down prices. So far, fair enough. But the tradi­ tional OPEC oil producing nations, mostly in the Middle East, were far from amused and decided to carry on pumping oil regardless, to create a huge oil lake driving down crude prices. They want to give America a bloody nose by making it uneconomic to continue fracking. Nations exporting oil and gas, particularly Russia, were hit where it really hurt and sanctions imposed through Putin’s involvement in the Ukraine has dealt a double blow, slashing by half the rouble’s value. It’s also part of OPEC’s philosophy that the West will be forced to cut down on oil exploration, with companies already slashing development budgets.

When the time is right, they will turn off the pumps and oil could then shoot up to 200 dollars a barrel, fuelling mega inflation, and it will take several years for pro­

duction elsewhere to fill the gap. Several other oil pro­ ducing countries´ economies have been turned upside down already,

ous. What the world needs desperately is stability and not turmoil, and stability is in short supply currently.

We all know how barbaric

under their control:­Those who commit adultery are stoned to death if the adul­ terer was married, and lashed 100 times and exiled

this set down in the Koran? I very much doubt it ­ but IS has set about creating an extremely strict interpreta­ tion of Sharia Law. The

bringing misery to people who earn their living in the industry. And here´s where it gets serious ­ because if a nation is pushed too hard and nationalism rears its head, anything can pop off.

Look what happened in Germany with the rise of Hitler, whilst Greece is an example with the weekend election result, driven by austerity.We´re seeing nationalism in several guis­ es already, and when stan­ dards of living become hit hard through economic tur­ moil, it feeds on itself. That´s why America and the Middle East, playing silly games over oil, is so potentially seri­

and cruel the IS Muslim extremists are, with killings commonplace in areas under their control in Syria and Iraq.

A similar group in Nigeria is even worse, and a reign of terror is spreading to neigh­ bouring countries.

In between the two areas are a growing number of unstable countries which, no doubt, are in the sights of the reli­ gious madmen. Not only that, but they have cells of extremist sympathisers embedded in other coun­ tries, in Europe and else­ where, ready to rear their ugly heads. Here´s what life is like in territory already

if he or she was unmarried.

Those engaged in sodomy (homosexuality) are sen­ tenced to death, along with those who 'spy for the unbe­ lievers'. Those who steal 'as part of banditry' have their right hand and/or left leg cut off, and the punishment for terrorising people is exile.

There are 80 lashes for drinking alcohol. Extremists executed 13 teenage boys for watching the Asian Cup football match between Iraq and Jordan – as they were found guilty of breaking reli­ gious laws. Militants killed pigeon breeders in Iraq after deciding it is against Islamic religion to keep birds. Is all

frightening thing is that there are nut cases in Britain and Europe who would dearly love to introduce it in the West.

Punishments in Britain and Europe for seri­ ous crimes are far too soft, but Sharia Law...I don´t think so. Frightening or what?

Good Roman Catholics do not need to breed like "rab­ bits", the Pope has said, but should practice "responsi­ ble" parenting instead. His words came as he returned from a visit to the Philippines, where he was shocked by seeing street children abandoned by par­ ents unable to afford to care for them. I had hoped that what would follow was a rec­ ommendation that it was reasonable to expect good Roman Catholics to also practice birth control, to pre­ vent "breeding like rabbits".

Sadly it didn´t. He stood firm against artificial birth control, and said new life was "part of the sacrament of mar­ riage". But he said popula­ tion experts advised three children per family. I am cer­ tain that the Bible does not contain a commandment that couples should not use condoms or the pill. I think one of the saddest things in life is to hear of people hav­ ing children they neither want nor cannot afford, or won´t look after. It creates the future generation of trou­

bled people, and children liv­ ing in starvation and misery in so many parts of the world. I am sure Jesus, God, nor anyone else decreed that. It´s my belief that a reli­ gion should adjust to the times – obviously not in core beliefs, but in the dogma and trappings that go with it.

Otherwise society will have extreme difficulty progress­ ing and improving its quality of life. So what does "responsible parenting" actually mean? Does it mean practising the rhythm method throughout married life, or withdrawing, or abstaining? Is all of that more than likely to put a strain on a marriage and is that being "responsible"?

The longer I live, the more I think that religion is more a curse to society than a blessing ­ when the interpre­ tation of religion is accompa­ nied by an absence of plain common sense.

One of the most read sto­ ries in the UK last week came from Finland, where, for 75 years, expectant mothers have been given a starter kit comprising a box of baby clothes, sheets and toys, the box having the abil­ ity to be used as a cot. It´s believed this simple thing has achieved one of the world´s lowest infant mortal­ ity rates. Those clever Finns went one stage further ­ in order to get the maternity box, they had to visit a doc­ tor or municipal pre­natal clinic before their fourth month of pregnancy. So, the box provided mothers with what they needed to look after their baby, but it also helped steer pregnant women into the arms of the doctors and nurses of Finland's welfare state.

Such a simple thing, and so relatively inexpensive.

Shame it hasn´t been uni­ versally adopted.

Recent studies have shown that British kids take longer being literate than their counterparts in other countries, and the reason, it seems, is the over­compli­ cated English language. Or, to be more precise, the way we spell words. Many words are not spelled as they are spoken, there are words with double letters, have extra needless letters added and each has to be learned indi­ vidually. Purists dred the dae wen the Inglish langwidge is simplefide, but meny would welcom it ­ I´m all for makin life as simpl as posible. I would dearly love to join a new political party dedicated to make life simpler...more on this next week.

15

Friday 30th January 2015

MY VEGGIE BIRTHDAY

I recently celebrated my birthday and this time around, I wanted to do something special. In 2013 I did nothing but it wasn´t because I was on my own as I had been alone the year before as well and managed a night out then, but it was more because I just didn´t feel like it. For some reason, I didn´t go out on New Year´s Eve or my birthday in 2013, as I just couldn´t get motivated. However this time round was different! I had partied on New Year´s Eve and for my special day I wanted to do something memorable. I wanted to go to an uncommon restaurant, somewhere that I hadn´t been for a while, in fact, I hadn´t visited this particular restaurant for around nine years. I had told my partner that this is where I´d like to go for my birthday, and sure enough it was booked for a Saturday night.

It just so happened that on the same day, my son had been invited to a birth­ day party for a friend of his and so it was going to be tight to go to the party then

get home, shower, change and get ready for the meal, but this was what I had to do. Of course my son had fun at the party, with plenty of food and drink and so, once in the restaurant he wasn´t hungry any more, and ended up with just a drink, however I´m moving on too fast. Back to the party, I eventually managed to drag my boy away around 8.00 pm and rushed home and jumped straight in the shower. At some point dur­ ing this and getting ready, my man arrived, although I didn´t know it until I looked out of the window and saw his vehicle.

As the years go by, it seems to take longer and longer to get ready, and I once read that it takes a minute for each year of your life. This is more than possi­ ble as once I´ve had my shower it takes around 40­ 45 minutes for me to get ready. I am certain it didn´t take that long when I was younger:­a bit of make­up and I was away. Nowadays it seems to be a different matter. I apply the founda­

tion and powder and then lipstick, and then spend what seems an eternity carefully applying layer upon layer of eye shadow.

Then there’s blending and checking, followed of course by a hint of blusher, being careful not to look like a clown! And then finally adding a touch of gloss over the earlier placed lipstick which means that the time has ticked by. Then of

course it´s onto the hair. I always wear it down when I go out so at least that´s one choice I don´t have to make, however, curly or straight can take a bit of deciding and then it has to be creat­ ed. I went for straight last Saturday, as it´s quicker to straighten my hair than curl it.

So, finally, around 9pm I was ready to face the world, but only of course once I´d

decided what clothes to wear! Jeans and boots had been pre­chosen but the top? That was a different matter. In the end I threw on a jumper with a long top over it, stuck a belt around my waist and once the jew­ ellery had been added the look was complete. We managed to set off shortly after 9pm and got to the restaurant 20 minutes later.

Parking is always difficult in this area but we were lucky and found somewhere very close, and so we were final­ ly there at a well­known veg­ etarian establishment in Torrevieja.

Whenever I go to eat with friends, I am always limited in my choice from the menu.

There are normally only one or two things that I can pick and so I never have to spend more than a minute looking. But in that particular restaurant, the entire menu would be possible, and so I would be able to look at every dish and choose which one I wanted. This, for me, was something to be enjoyed as a new and rare experience. As it was, I

found it very difficult to nar­ row it down, and in the end was undecided between two dishes. My son picked for me not really knowing what he was being asked to choose! All in all we had a very pleasant evening, and it was a fairly new experi­ ence for my partner, although he had eaten there in the distant past with meatless food being strange for him, as for most carni­ vores. But I was grateful that he gave it a try and seemed to enjoy it.

I would highly recommend a visit, and if you do go, you have to try one of their sal­ ads. One of my students had told me that it was one of her favourite dishes in the restaurant, and I was a bit sceptical, after all a salad is just a salad isn´t it? How wrong I was! I don´t think I´ve had a fresher, better tasting salad in Spain, and before you ask how I can make that bold statement, go and try one, I defy you to disagree. All in all it was a very pleasant visit, and I am definitely planning a return, maybe next birthday!

16

Friday 30th January 2015

Spanish 157 ¡Hola! How did you get on with last week´s answers?

Are there any that you didn´t understand and still can´t get to terms with? If you ever have any doubts about Spanish I can always be con­ tacted via the newspaper to answer your questions. If you remember, before Christmas, we were learning verbs that had more than one meaning, well the holidays have passed so we are going to continue along the same theme.

This week we are going to be practising the various uses of the verb: acabar. The general meaning of this verb is ´to finish´ however it is used with a preposition to mean different things depending on which preposi­ tion it is used with. So let´s begin: Firstly acabar is a regular verb so in the present indicative it is: acabo, acabas, acaba, acabamos, acabáis, acaban.

Probably the most common expression is acabar de which means ´to have just´ done something. Remember with these uses as in all cases when there are two verbs together the first one is conjugated and the second is left in the infinitive. So, to say I have just read a book, (mean­ ing you have literally just finished reading it) you would say acabo de leer un libro. You have just eaten – tú acabas de comer, he has just arrived home ­ acaba de llegar a casa, They have just finished – acaban de terminar.

The next use of acabar is acabar algo which has two

meanings, they are: ´to finish something´ and ´to use something up´, usually these would be used in the past tense for example: she finished her homework – ella acabó sus deberes, I finished my article – yo acabé mi

artículo. They used up all the petrol – se acabaron toda la gasolina.

Next we can say acabar con alguién or acabar con algo which means to destroy, ruin or end someone or some­ thing: The scandal ruined the president – el escándalo acabó con el presidente, the goal brought to an end the football game – el gol acabó con el partido de futbol, Of course this verb can also be used as a reflexive verb: acabarse which means ´to end´ or ´to come to an end´ The concert ended – se acabó el concierto, The party has come to an end – La fiesta se ha acabado.

When used with the preposition por it is followed by the

infinitive of the verb, and it means ´to end up (English ­ing verb)´ for example: I ended up flying – acabé por viajar por avión.

When acabar is used in the gerund (­ing ending) it means ´to finish (­ing ending) e.g: I am finishing eating din­ ner – acabo comiendo la cena. This last use is a bit unusual in English as we don´t tend to use finish in the gerund, only in the continuous tense, however it is shown here as an example of when we can use it in Spanish.

So, those are the most com­ mon ways to use the very use­ ful verb acabar, once again the best way to practise any verb is to be speaking to Spanish people and listening to what they are saying, you will pick up many new words and phrases and it really is one of the best ways to learn.

You need to listen closely to what is being said and it´s always a good idea to carry a pen and paper with you to note down any unknown new words and phrases in order to look them up when you have time. When I was learning, I used to carry a small dictionary in my car door pocket and whenever I was sat somewhere waiting for something or saw a new word I would check the dictionary. I learnt a lot of new words that way and continually use dictionaries to practise and improve. We never stop learning, it´s important to recog­ nise that so you don´t get overwhelmed when you realise it´s a long road to speaking and understanding Spanish.

Have a great week and see you same time, same place next week.

Friday 30th January 2015

17

18

Friday 30th January 2015

Friday 30th January to Thursday 5th February 2015

CAN YOU COMPLETE THESE DINGBATS?

1.

6.

11.

2.

7.

12.

3.

8.

13.

4.

9.

14.

5.

10.

15.

answers in next weeks edition

Last Weeks Answers: 1) The 7 Seas 2) One in a Million 3) I understand you undertake to undermine my undertaking 4) He’s beside himself 5) West End 6) You are out of touch 7) A backward glance 8) Downtown 9) 3 degress below zero 10) Broken Promise 11) First Aid 12) Tricycle 13) Just between you and me 14) Life begins at 40 15) Neon lights

TRELI ON THE TELLY WOW FOR WOLF!

this six part series based on Hilary Mantel’s two Booker Prize winning nov­ els. She must be delighted BBC 2’s Wolf Hall is just by what’s terrific. It’s a far cry from the appeared on comedy bonkfest that was screen. The The Tudors but it’s just as crisp dia­ entertaining and crucially logue backed more engrossing with a sen­ up by lus­ sational performance from cious location Mark Rylance in the lead role shoots make of Thomas Cromwell(pic­ this a delight tured). Understandably a lot even if histor­ of the pre­transmission pub­ ical dramati­ licity was about Damien sations may Lewis playing King Henry not necessar­ VIII, but though Lewis is first­ ily be your rate, it is Rylance’s under­ bag. Mantel stated performance that just has a con­ grabs you and confirms why cluding novel the normally TV­shy actor is out this year, and it’s to be acclaimed as one of the hoped that Rylance and the greatest British stage actors whole team have signed con­ around. Cromwell ended up tracts for it to be filmed as replacing Cardinal Wolsey as well. This has set such a high Henry’s fixer and we get to benchmark for new British see his manoeuvrings over TV this year that I cannot see

with ALEX TRELINSKI

anything beating it, let alone being as good.

I’m surprised anybody in the UK is in a good enough mental state to go to work on a Monday morning after being drained emotionally by

Call The Midwife on a Sunday night! This pro­ gramme consistently presses the right buttons every week with a cast and settings that make everything totally believable. If this was an ITV

programme, than a multi­ m i l l i o n pound spon­ sorship with Kleenex would have b e e n inevitable!

At last we have some backbone in ITV’s shock­ ing week­ end sched­ ule with the welcome return of Mr. Selfridge on a Sunday.

It’s high class soap but enjoy­ able non the less, and the first episode actually showed Jeremy Piven’s lead character in a good light, as he grieved for his late wife, and wanting to do the right thing in many aspects. In contrast, we got all kinds of

people ready grab money from him like his new Russian in­laws as well as revenge from the nasty Lord Loxley. The designs and set­ tings are great and that com­ pensates for the story pre­ dictability. There are many worse ways of rounding off a weekend like watching a recording of Harry Hill’s Stars In Their Eyes!

It’s so good to see Russell T Davies penning quality drama again, and giving a much­needed boost to Channel Four’s schedules.

Davies wrote the pioneering gay series Queer as Folk in the late nineties, and ten years ago triumphantly revived Doctor Who. Cucumber focuses on middle age gays in Manchester, and works a treat, plus we have the bonus of Julie Hesmondhalgh in her first post­Corrie TV role, and a nasty lead character of Henry played by Vincent Franklin. You’ll either love it or hate it.

20

COURIER TV GUIDE ­ Friday 30th January to Thursday 5th February

FRIDAY

30th JANUARY

00:45 This Week 01:30 Skiing Weatherview 01:35 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Wanted Down Under 11:00 Homes Under the Hammer 12:00 Saints and Scroungers 12:45 Helicopter Heroes Down Under 13:15 Bargain Hunt 14:00 BBC News; Weather 14:30 BBC Regional News and Weather 14:45 Doctors 15:15 Father Brown 16:00 The Link 16:45 Escape to the Country 17:30 Antiques Road Trip 18:15 Pointless 19:00 BBC News 19:30 Weather 19:30 BBC London News 20:00 The One Show 20:30 BBC News; Regional News 20:30 A Question of Sport 21:00 EastEnders 21:30 Room 101 22:00 The Musketeers 23:00 BBC News 23:25 National Lottery Update 23:25 BBC Regional News and Weather 23:35 The Graham Norton Show

00:00 Family Guy 01:10 Bangkok Airport 02:05 Crims 02:35 Excluded: Kicked Out of School 03:35 South Side Story 04:05 Comedy Feeds 04:30 Crims 05:00 Close 20:00 Doctor Who: The Ultimate Guide 20:10 Doctor Who 21:00 Excluded: Kicked Out of School 22:00 Tough Young Teachers 23:00 Russell Howard's Good News 23:30 EastEnders

DON’T MISS

00:15 Weather 00:20 MH17: In Search of Truth 00:50 The Super­Rich and Us 01:50 Panorama 02:20 This Is BBC Two 05:00 Around the World in 80 Faiths 06:00 Schools: Let's Do Maths!

07:05 Homes Under the Hammer 08:05 Saints and Scroungers 08:50 Helicopter Heroes Down Under 09:20 Channel Patrol 10:05 The Big Allotment Challenge 11:05 Food & Drink 11:35 The Travel Show 12:00 BBC News 12:30 BBC World News 13:00 Daily Politics 14:00 Great Britons 15:00 Churchill: The Nation's Farewell 16:00 Young Winston 18:15 Antiques Roadshow 19:00 Eggheads 19:30 Great British Railway Journeys 20:00 Antiques Road Trip 21:00 Mastermind 21:30 Food & Drink 22:00 The Big Allotment Challenge 23:00 QI 23:30 Newsnight

00:40 Ade at Sea 01:05 Jackpot247 04:00 The Jeremy Kyle Show USA 04:40 ITV Nightscreen 06:05 The Jeremy Kyle Show 07:00 Good Morning Britain 09:30 Lorraine 10:25 The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30 This Morning 13:30 Loose Women 14:30 ITV News and Weather 14:55 ITV Meridian Weather 14:55 ITV News Meridian 15:00 Judge Rinder 16:00 Tipping Point 16:59 ITV Meridian Weather 17:00 Mel & Sue 18:00 The Chase 19:00 ITV News Meridian 19:30 ITV News and Weather 20:00 Emmerdale 20:30 Coronation Street 21:00 The Martin Lewis Money Show 21:30 Coronation Street 22:00 Benidorm 23:00 ITV News at Ten and Weather 23:30 ITV Meridian Weather 23:30 ITV News Meridian 23:40 Shaun of the Dead

00:05 24 Hours in Police Custody 01:10 Weighing Up the Enemy 02:05 One Born Every Minute 03:00 Food Unwrapped 03:25 Dispatches 03:55 Secret History 04:50 Kirstie's Vintage Gems 05:00 SuperScrimpers 05:55 Hugh's 3 Good Things: Best Bites 06:05 Deal or No Deal 07:00 Countdown 07:45 According to Jim 08:10 The King of Queens 09:00 Frasier 10:05 Everybody Loves Raymond 11:05 Undercover Boss USA 12:00 Car SOS 13:00 Channel 4 News Summary 13:05 Come Dine with Me 14:05 Three in a Bed 15:10 A Place in the Sun: Winter Sun 16:10 Countdown 17:00 Deal or No Deal 18:00 Come Dine with Me 18:30 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 Channel 4 News 21:00 Jamie and Jimmy's Friday Night Feast 22:00 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown 23:00 The Last Leg

00:00 Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side 01:00 SuperCasino 04:10 Race to the Pole 05:00 Michaela's Wild Challenge 05:25 Divine Designs 05:45 House Doctor 07:00 The WotWots 07:10 Igam Ogam 07:20 Fireman Sam 07:30 Toot the Tiny Tugboat 07:45 Peppa Pig 07:55 Pip Ahoy!

08:10 Little Princess 08:20 The Mr Men Show 08:35 Thomas & Friends 08:50 Noddy in Toyland 09:00 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 09:15 Peppa Pig 09:35 Toby's Travelling Circus 09:45 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Tickety Toc 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:10 Cowboy Traders 13:10 5 News Lunchtime 13:15 Celebrity Big Brother 14:15 Home and Away 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 NCIS: Los Angeles 16:15 Deadly Sibling Rivalry 18:00 5 News at 5 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Home and Away 19:30 5 News Tonight 20:00 Race to the Pole 21:00 Ice Road Truckers 22:00 Celebrity Big Brother 23:00 Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side

00:25 The Eiger: Wall of

01:10 Cockroaches

00:00 Law & Order: UK

01:05 River Monsters

Death

01:40 Two and a Half Men

01:05 A Touch of Frost

02:05 The Cycle Show

01:25 Horizon

02:30 Scorpion

02:55 ITV3 Nightscreen

02:55 Minder

03:10 Teleshopping

03:30 Teleshopping

03:45 ITV4 Nightscreen

06:40 ITV2 Nightscreen

07:00 Rising Damp

02:15 Top of the Pops: 1980 03:00 Barry White at the BBC 03:55 Battle for The Himalayas: The Fight to Film Everest 04:55 Close 20:00 World News Today 20:30 Sounds of the 60s 21:00 Symphony 22:00 Sound of Song 23:00 Kraftwerk: Pop Art

RACE TO THE POLE 20:00 - CHANNEL FIVE

Following more than a year of gruelling preparation, former rugby union player and adventurer Richard Parks attempts to enter the record books by trying to become the fastest­ever person to ski 1,150km with­ out support from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole. Richard has to cover at least 50km a day while pulling a 68kg sled to break the record of Norwegian Christian Eide, but four days into his attempt, bliz­ zards slow his progress to such an extent that he is forced to consider returning to base. Last in the series.

07:00 Life's Funniest Moments 07:25 Wycliffe 08:25 Heartbeat 07:25 You've Been Framed!

07:45 Emmerdale 08:45 You've Been Framed!

09:15 The Cube 10:15 Psych 11:10 The Chase 12:15 All Star Family Fortunes 13:15 Emmerdale 13:40 Emmerdale 14:15 You've Been Framed!

04:00 Teleshopping 07:00 Greatest England World Cup Matches 07:10 The Big Match

09:25 Where the Heart Is

Revisited

10:35 The Royal

08:00 Minder

11:40 Judge Judy

09:00 The Professionals

13:00 Murder, She Wrote

10:00 Hogan's Heroes

14:00 Heartbeat

11:05 Magnum, PI

15:00 Where the Heart Is

12:05 Minder

16:10 The Royal 17:15 Never the Twain 17:50 Rising Damp

13:05 Ax Men 14:05 The Professionals 15:05 Magnum, PI 16:05 Pawn Stars

18:20 On the Buses

14:45 Psych

17:00 Hogan's Heroes

18:55 Heartbeat

18:00 Minder

15:40 The Jeremy Kyle Show

20:00 Murder, She Wrote

19:00 Ax Men

19:00 You've Been Framed!

21:00 Agatha Christie's

20:00 Pawn Stars

21:00 Two and a Half Men

Marple

21:00 Counting Cars

22:00 I Am Legend

23:00 Collision

22:00 The Enforcer

COURIER TV GUIDE ­ Friday 30th January to Thursday 5th February

SATURDAY

21

31st JANUARY

00:25 Bluestone 42

00:00 Weather

00:55 EastEnders

00:05 The Road

02:50 Weather for the Week

01:45 Question Time

Ahead 02:45 This Is BBC Two

02:55 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast

06:35 Quantrill's Raiders

11:00 Saturday Kitchen Live

07:45 Bitter Victory

12:30 James Martin: Home

09:25 Live Tennis

Comforts 13:00 BBC News; Weather

12:30 Animal Park

13:10 Football Focus

13:00 James Martin: Home

13:50 Saturday Sportsday

Comforts

14:00 Bargain Hunt

13:45 Hollywood Greats

15:00 Escape to the Country

14:25 Lust for Life

16:00 Homes Under the 16:25 Hidalgo

Hammer 17:00 Final Score

18:30 The Great British

18:20 Pointless Celebrities

Sewing Bee

19:10 BBC News; Regional

19:30 Flog It!

News and Weather 20:30 Attenborough's

19:30 Now You See It 20:00 The Voice UK

Paradise Birds

21:30 The National Lottery:

21:30 Dad's Army

Win Your Wish List

22:00 The Secret World of

22:20 Casualty

Lewis Carroll

23:10 BBC News; Weather 23:30 National Lottery Update

23:00 QI

01:30 Jackpot247 04:00 Scooby­Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed 05:30 ITV Nightscreen 07:00 Bottom Knocker Street 07:35 Dino Dan 08:00 Canimals 08:10 Sooty 08:25 Signed Stories 08:30 Scrambled!

08:35 Nerds & Monsters 08:50 Adventure Time 09:30 Horrid Henry 09:50 Hulk and the Agents of Smash 10:25 The Jeremy Kyle Show 13:30 ITV News and Weather 13:34 ITV Meridian Weather 13:35 The Jeremy Kyle Show 14:40 The Undriveables 15:10 Who's Doing the Dishes?

16:10 Doc Martin 17:10 Big Star's Little Star 18:10 ITV Meridian Weather 18:10 ITV News Meridian 18:20 ITV News and Weather 18:30 You've Been Framed!

19:30 Harry Hill's Stars in Their Eyes 20:30 Planet's Got Talent 21:05 Take Me Out 22:20 The Jonathan Ross Show 23:25 ITV News and Weather 23:34 ITV Meridian Weather 23:35 The Shawshank Redemption

00:05 Catastrophe

22:00 Ted

00:30 Celebrity Big Brother: Live from the House 01:15 SuperCasino 04:10 Celebrity Big Brother 05:00 Michaela's Wild Challenge 05:25 Divine Designs 05:50 House Doctor 07:00 Peppa Pig 07:05 Roary the Racing Car 07:15 Angelina Ballerina 07:30 Pip Ahoy!

07:40 The Mr Men Show 07:55 Chloe's Closet 08:10 Olly the Little White Van 08:15 Bananas in Pyjamas 08:25 Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures 08:30 Make Way for Noddy 08:45 Paw Patrol 08:55 Little Princess 09:10 The Adventures of Bottle Top Bill and His Best Friend Corky 09:25 Wanda and the Alien 09:40 Zack and Quack 10:00 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 10:15 Jelly Jamm 10:30 LazyTown 11:00 SpongeBob SquarePants 11:35 Access 11:45 Ice Road Truckers 15:40 Columbo: a Friend in Deed 17:35 Columbo: a Deadly State of Mind 19:10 NCIS 21:50 5 News Weekend 22:00 Celebrity Big Brother 23:00 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 23:55 Law & Order

00:40 Brooklyn Nine­Nine 01:05 Rude Tube 02:00 The Rocky Horror Picture Show 03:45 The Ricky Gervais Show 04:45 Grand Designs Australia 05:40 Deal or No Deal 06:35 Face the Clock 07:00 Trans World Sport 08:00 Killarney Adventure Race 08:25 Itera Expedition Race 08:55 The Morning Line 10:00 The King of Queens 10:30 Everybody Loves Raymond 11:30 Frasier 12:30 The Big Bang Theory 13:25 Speed with Guy Martin 14:30 Channel 4 Racing 17:00 Come Dine with Me 18:00 The Big Bang Theory 18:30 The Simpsons 19:30 Channel 4 News 20:00 The Restoration Man 21:00 The World's Weirdest Weather

23:30 Match of the Day

23:30 Ginger & Rosa

00:00 Family Guy

00:00 Synth Britannia

00:05 Take Me Out

00:00 Law & Order: UK

00:00 The Day of the Jackal

01:35 Crims

01:30 Sound of Song

01:15 Take Me Out ­ The

01:05 Wycliffe

02:50 Whisker Wars

02:00 South Side Story

02:30 Kraftwerk: Pop Art

Gossip

02:10 The Royal

02:30 Russell Howard's Good

03:30 Synth Britannia

02:00 Two and a Half Men

03:00 Judge Judy

News

05:00 Close

02:25 Cockroaches

03:20 William and Mary

03:00 Bangkok Airport

20:00 The First World War

02:50 Fake Reaction

04:15 ITV3 Nightscreen

04:00 Teleshopping

04:00 Life Is Toff

from Above

03:25 Teleshopping

04:40 Emmerdale

07:00 Movies Now

05:00 Close

21:00 Bright Lights, Brilliant

06:55 ITV2 Nightscreen

20:00 Great Movie Mistakes

Minds: A Tale of Three Cities

07:00 Life's Funniest

21:00 Top Gear

22:00 Spiral

Moments

22:00 Blades of Glory

22:55 Spiral

07:25 Emmerdale

23:30 Russell Howard's Good

23:50 Charlie Brooker's

10:10 Coronation Street

News

Weekly Wipe

12:40 The Hot Desk

DON’T MISS

TED 22:00 - CHANNEL 4

Comedy starring Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis and the voice of Seth MacFarlane. When young John Bennett's wish that his beloved toy bear Ted could come to life is granted, the two become inseparable. But

12:50 The Cube 13:55 Homeward Bound II:

07:00 Judge Judy 07:20 The Upper Hand 07:45 The Great St Trinian's

03:40 Movies Now 03:50 ITV4 Nightscreen

07:10 The Professionals 09:00 The Cycle Show

Train Robbery

10:05 Highway Patrol

09:40 Where the Heart Is

10:35 Hogan's Heroes

10:45 Where the Heart Is

12:40 World Rally

11:50 The Darling Buds of

Championship Highlights

May 13:00 A Touch of Frost

13:45 Darts: The Masters Live

Lost in San Francisco

15:00 Wycliffe

18:00 Storage Wars

15:40 Honey

16:05 George and Mildred

18:30 Storage Wars

17:35 ET the Extra­Terrestrial

18:00 Agatha Christie's

19:00 Storage Wars: Texas

19:50 The Mummy Returns

Marple

22:20 Take Me Out ­ The

20:00 Doc Martin

as they grow older, although not necessarily more mature, the potty­ Gossip

21:00 Foyle's War

mouthed furry one starts to get in the way of John's other relationships. 23:05 Keith Lemon: the Film

23:00 Lewis

19:55 UEFA Champions League Hat­Trick Heroes 20:00 Darts: The Masters Live

22

COURIER TV GUIDE ­ Friday 30th January to Thursday 5th February

SUNDAY

1st FEBRUARY

01:00 The Football League Show

00:55 The Tempest 02:40 This Is BBC Two

02:20 Stark Raving Mad 03:55 Weather for the Week Ahead

07:00 The Football League Show

04:00 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast

08:20 Countryfile

08:30 Match of the Day

09:15 Live Tennis

10:00 The Andrew Marr Show 11:00 The Big Questions 12:00 Sunday Politics

13:00 Saturday Kitchen Best Bites

13:15 MOTD2 Extra

14:30 James Martin: Home

14:00 BBC News 14:10 Weather for the Week Ahead

Comforts 15:00 Food & Drink

14:15 Bargain Hunt 15:15 Escape to the Country 16:00 Eat Well for Less?

15:30 Talking Pictures 16:00 Ivanhoe

17:00 Your Home in Their Hands

17:45 Flog It! Trade Secrets

18:00 Songs of Praise

18:15 Ski Sunday

18:35 BBC News; Regional 19:00 This World

News and Weather 19:00 Animals in Love

20:00 The Motorway: Life in

20:00 Countryfile

the Fast Lane

21:00 Call the Midwife 22:00 Last Tango in Halifax 23:00 BBC News; Regional News and Weather

21:00 Top Gear 22:00 Dragons' Den

23:30 Match of the Day 2

23:00 True Grit

00:00 Family Guy

00:20 Pop Charts Britannia:

03:00 Crims 60 Years of the Top 10

03:30 South Side Story 04:00 Life Is Toff

01:50 Top of the Pops: 1980

04:30 Life Is Toff 02:40 Play it Loud: The Story

05:00 Close 20:00 Great TV Mistakes 20:30 The Voice UK 22:00 Backchat with Jack

of the Marshall Amp 03:40 Bright Lights, Brilliant

Whitehall and His Dad 22:30 Russell Howard's Good News

Minds: A Tale of Three Cities 04:40 Close

23:00 Family Guy 23:50 Crims

DON’T MISS

20:00 Shoah: Second Era

OUR GUY IN INDIA 22:00 - CHANNEL 4

Part one of two. Guy Martin takes a 1,000­mile journey across India to compete in a race called Rider Mania, the world's largest gathering of Royal Enfield motorbikes. Along the way, the daredevil rides with a 50­strong biker gang, visits Asia's biggest truck yard and clambers 833ft to the top of India's tallest building, the Imperial skyscraper in Mumbai. Although he's used to living life to the extreme, Guy finds him­ self completely out of his comfort zone, from sleeping rough among rats, to experiencing the torrential rain of a monsoon.

02:10 Jackpot247 04:00 The Jeremy Kyle Show USA 04:40 ITV Nightscreen 07:00 Bottom Knocker Street 07:35 Dino Dan 08:00 Canimals 08:10 Sooty 08:25 Signed Stories 08:30 Scrambled!

08:35 Nerds & Monsters 08:50 Ultimate Spider­Man 09:30 Horrid Henry 09:50 Deadtime Stories 10:25 The Jeremy Kyle Show 13:30 ITV News and Weather 13:39 ITV Meridian Weather 13:40 Harry Hill's Stars in Their Eyes 14:40 Off Their Rockers 15:10 Mel & Sue 16:15 Tipping Point 17:15 The Spy Who Loved Me 19:35 ITV Meridian Weather 19:35 ITV News Meridian 19:45 ITV News and Weather 20:00 Get Your Act Together 21:15 All Star Family Fortunes 22:00 Mr Selfridge 23:00 ITV News and Weather 23:14 ITV Meridian Weather 23:15 Perspectives

00:10 Your Highness

23:30 American Football Live

00:50 Criminals: Caught on Camera 01:15 SuperCasino 04:10 Celebrity Big Brother 05:00 House Doctor 05:25 Make It Big 06:15 Angels of Jarm 06:40 Roary the Racing Car 07:00 Peppa Pig 07:05 Roary the Racing Car 07:15 Angelina Ballerina 07:30 Pip Ahoy!

07:40 The Mr Men Show 07:55 Chloe's Closet 08:05 Pip Ahoy!

08:15 Olly the Little White Van 08:20 Bananas in Pyjamas 08:35 Make Way for Noddy 08:45 Paw Patrol 09:00 Little Princess 09:15 The Adventures of Bottle Top Bill and His Best Friend Corky 09:25 Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures 09:30 Wanda and the Alien 09:45 Zack and Quack 10:00 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 10:15 Jelly Jamm 10:30 LazyTown 11:00 SpongeBob SquarePants 11:35 Access 11:40 Robson's Extreme Fishing Challenge 14:35 A Little Princess 16:25 Hoodwinked 17:55 Made of Honor 19:50 Hellboy II: the Golden Army 21:55 5 News Weekend 22:00 Celebrity Big Brother 23:00 Justice

00:55 Celebrity Juice 01:55 Fake Reaction 02:35 Totally Bonkers Guinness World Records 03:00 Totally Bonkers Guinness World Records 03:25 Life's Funniest Moments 03:45 The Hot Desk 03:55 Teleshopping 06:55 ITV2 Nightscreen 07:00 The Hot Desk 07:10 Life's Funniest Moments 07:35 Emmerdale 10:25 Coronation Street 12:55 Take Me Out 14:10 Take Me Out ­ The Gossip 14:55 You've Been Framed!

15:25 Scorpion 16:15 Stormbreaker 18:05 Despicable Me 19:55 Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde 22:00 The Matrix

01:05 A Touch of Frost

00:00 Africa Cup of Nations

02:55 ITV3 Nightscreen

Highlights

02:05 The Last Leg 03:00 Prizzi's Honor 05:10 Hollyoaks 07:20 NFL: Rush Zone 07:45 How I Met Your Mother 08:35 Everybody Loves Raymond 09:00 Everybody Loves Raymond 09:30 Frasier 10:00 Frasier 10:30 Sunday Brunch 13:30 Jamie and Jimmy's Friday Night Feast 14:30 The Big Bang Theory 15:00 The Simpsons 15:30 The Simpsons 16:00 Penelope 17:50 Channel 4 News 18:20 Mr Popper's Penguins 20:00 The Jump 21:00 The Hotel 22:00 Our Guy in India 23:05 The Simpsons

03:30 Teleshopping 07:00 Judge Judy

01:00 The Quest 03:00 Bread and Circuses

07:40 On the Buses 03:50 ITV4 Nightscreen 08:10 On the Buses 08:40 George and Mildred 10:30 Heartbeat

04:00 Teleshopping 07:00 The Professionals

11:35 Heartbeat

08:55 Hogan's Heroes

12:35 Sherlock Holmes: The

09:25 The Motorbike Show

Last Vampyre

10:25 Ax Men

14:45 Agatha Christie's

11:20 Pawn Stars

Marple 16:45 Rosemary & Thyme

13:45 Darts: The Masters Live 18:00 Africa Cup of Nations

17:45 Inspector Morse Highlights 20:00 Lewis 22:00 The Best of the Royal

19:00 Counting Cars

Variety

19:30 Counting Cars

23:00 Northern Lights

20:00 Darts: The Masters Live

23

COURIER TV GUIDE ­ Friday 30th January to Thursday 5th February

MONDAY

2nd FEBRUARY

00:30 The Apprentice USA 01:50 Weather for the Week Ahead 01:55 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Wanted Down Under Revisited 11:00 Homes Under the Hammer 12:00 Saints and Scroungers 12:45 Helicopter Heroes Down Under 13:15 Bargain Hunt 14:00 BBC News; Weather 14:45 Doctors 15:15 Father Brown 16:00 The Link 16:45 Escape to the Country 17:30 Antiques Road Trip 18:15 Pointless 19:00 BBC News 19:30 Weather 19:30 BBC London News 20:00 The One Show 20:30 BBC News; Regional News 20:30 Inside Out 21:00 EastEnders 21:30 Panorama 22:00 Silent Witness 23:00 BBC News 23:25 BBC Regional News and Weather

00:45 New Jack City 02:20 Countryfile 03:15 Holby City 04:15 This Is BBC Two 07:05 Homes Under the Hammer 08:05 Saints and Scroungers 08:50 Helicopter Heroes Down Under 09:20 Channel Patrol 10:05 Celebrity Antiques Road Trip 11:05 Great British Railway Journeys 11:35 Click 12:00 BBC News 12:30 BBC World News 13:00 Daily Politics 14:00 Coast 14:15 The War Lords 14:45 The Road to War 15:40 Mountain 16:40 Open All Hours 17:10 To the Manor Born 17:35 Hi­de­Hi! 18:15 Flog It! 19:00 Eggheads 19:30 The Great Antiques Map of Britain 20:00 Top Gear 21:00 University Challenge 21:30 Only Connect 22:00 A Cook Abroad 23:00 Backchat with Jack Whitehall and His Dad 23:30 Newsnight

00:15 LV= Cup Rugby Union 01:10 The Store 03:30 The Jeremy Kyle Show USA 04:15 ITV Nightscreen 06:05 The Jeremy Kyle Show 07:00 Good Morning Britain 09:30 Lorraine 10:25 The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30 This Morning 11:55 ITV News 11:59 ITV Meridian Weather 12:00 This Morning 13:30 Loose Women 14:30 ITV News and Weather 14:55 ITV Meridian Weather 14:55 ITV News Meridian 15:00 Judge Rinder 16:00 Tipping Point 16:59 ITV Meridian Weather 17:00 Mel & Sue 18:00 The Chase 19:00 ITV News Meridian 19:30 ITV News and Weather 20:00 Emmerdale 20:30 Coronation Street 21:00 Richard Wilson on the Road 21:30 Coronation Street 22:00 Broadchurch 23:00 ITV News at Ten and Weather 23:30 ITV Meridian Weather 23:30 ITV News Meridian 23:40 The Jonathan Ross Show

04:30 SuperScrimpers

00:20 Family Guy 00:45 Family Guy 01:05 Backchat with Jack Whitehall and His Dad 01:35 South Side Story 02:05 Bangkok Airport 03:00 Life Is Toff 03:30 Life Is Toff 04:00 Bangkok Airport 05:00 Close 20:00 Great TV Mistakes 20:30 Don't Tell the Bride 21:30 Waterloo Road 22:30 South Side Story 23:00 Cuckoo 23:30 EastEnders

00:40 Sound of Song

00:40 Tricked 01:40 Fake Reaction 02:20 Totally Bonkers Guinness World Records 02:45 Totally Bonkers Guinness World Records 03:10 Teleshopping 06:40 ITV2 Nightscreen 07:00 Life's Funniest Moments 07:25 You've Been Framed!

07:45 Emmerdale 08:15 Coronation Street 09:15 The Cube 10:15 Psych 11:10 The Chase 12:15 All Star Family Fortunes 13:15 Emmerdale 13:40 Coronation Street 14:15 Coronation Street 14:45 Psych 15:40 The Jeremy Kyle Show 19:00 You've Been Framed!

21:00 Two and a Half Men 22:00 Through the Keyhole 23:00 Death Race

00:05 Pride & Prejudice

DON’T MISS

01:40 Kraftwerk: Pop Art 02:40 Synth Britannia 04:10 Sounds of the 70s 2 04:40 Close 20:00 World News Today 20:30 National Treasures of Wales 21:00 The Treasure Hunters 22:00 Regina: The First Woman Rabbi 23:00 The Internet's Own Boy ­ Storyville

A COOK ABROAD 22:00 - BBC TWO

Culinary travelogue in which celebrity cooks and chefs visit foreign countries to sample their food and culture, beginning with Dave Myers travelling to Egypt. The Hairy Biker fulfils a boyhood dream by visiting the pyramids at Giza, goes to the oasis of Al Fayoum in search of a dish with mythical properties and heads to a place on the banks of the Nile where ancient man first turned to farming. To mark the end of his jour­ ney, Dave is invited by a family of Nubians for a feast to celebrate the end of Eid Al Adha, and helps prepare a traditional meal that has become famous across the entire Arab world.

04:40 Kirstie's Best of Both Worlds 05:35 A Place in the Sun: Home or Away 06:30 Face the Clock 07:00 Countdown 07:45 The King of Queens 08:10 3rd Rock from the Sun 09:00 Frasier 10:05 Everybody Loves Raymond 11:05 Undercover Boss USA 12:00 Car SOS 13:00 Channel 4 News Summary 13:05 Come Dine with Me 14:05 Three in a Bed 15:10 Countdown 16:00 Deal or No Deal 17:00 Shipping Wars UK 17:45 Couples Come Dine with Me 18:30 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 Channel 4 News 21:00 The Jump 22:00 The Undateables 23:00 Catastrophe 23:35 Bodyshockers

02:40 Countrywise Kitchen 03:05 Countrywise Kitchen 03:30 Judge Judy 04:10 ITV3 Nightscreen 04:40 Emmerdale 07:00 Rising Damp 07:25 Wycliffe 08:25 Heartbeat 09:25 Where the Heart Is 10:40 The Royal 11:40 Judge Judy 13:00 Murder, She Wrote 14:00 Heartbeat 15:00 Where the Heart Is 16:10 The Royal 17:15 Never the Twain 17:50 Rising Damp 18:20 On the Buses 18:55 Heartbeat 19:55 Murder, She Wrote 20:55 Rosemary & Thyme 22:00 Long Lost Family 23:00 Wycliffe

01:00 Britain's Flashiest Families 02:00 SuperCasino 04:10 Storage: Flog the Lot! 05:00 House Doctor 05:25 Make It Big 06:15 Angels of Jarm 06:40 Roary the Racing Car 07:00 The WotWots 07:10 Igam Ogam 07:20 Fireman Sam 07:30 Toot the Tiny Tugboat 07:45 Peppa Pig 07:55 Pip Ahoy!

08:10 Little Princess 08:20 The Mr Men Show 08:35 Thomas & Friends 08:50 Noddy in Toyland 09:00 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 09:15 Peppa Pig 09:35 Toby's Travelling Circus 09:45 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Tickety Toc 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:10 Cowboy Traders 13:10 5 News Lunchtime 13:15 Celebrity Big Brother 14:15 Home and Away 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 NCIS 16:15 Angels Fall 18:00 5 News at 5 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Home and Away 19:30 5 News Tonight 20:00 Criminals: Caught on Camera 20:30 5 News Update 20:30 Car Crash TV 21:00 Celebrity Big Brother 22:00 Celebrity Big Brother 23:00 10,000 BC

00:00 Africa Cup of Nations Highlights 01:00 Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas 03:20 Nitro Circus 03:45 ITV4 Nightscreen 04:00 Teleshopping 07:00 Movies Now 07:10 The Big Match Revisited 08:00 Minder 09:00 The Professionals 10:00 Hogan's Heroes 11:05 Magnum, PI 12:05 Minder 13:05 Ax Men 14:00 The Professionals 15:00 Magnum, PI 16:00 Pawn Stars 17:00 Hogan's Heroes 18:00 Ax Men 19:00 Africa Cup of Nations Highlights 20:00 LV= Cup Rugby Union 21:00 Storage Wars 22:00 Storage Wars: Texas 22:30 Storage Wars: Texas 23:00 Ax Men

24

COURIER TV GUIDE ­ Friday 30th January to Thursday 5th February

TUESDAY

3rd FEBRUARY

00:30 Waterloo Road 01:30 The Graham Norton Show 02:15 Weather for the Week Ahead 02:20 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Wanted Down Under Revisited 11:00 Homes Under the Hammer 12:00 Saints and Scroungers 12:45 Helicopter Heroes Down Under 13:15 Bargain Hunt 14:00 BBC News; Weather 14:45 Doctors 15:15 Father Brown 16:00 The Link 16:45 Escape to the Country 17:30 Antiques Road Trip 18:15 Pointless 19:00 BBC News 19:30 Weather 19:30 BBC London News 20:00 The One Show 20:30 BBC News; Regional News 20:30 EastEnders 21:00 Holby City 22:00 Silent Witness 23:00 BBC News 23:25 National Lottery Update 23:25 BBC Regional News and Weather 23:45 Count Arthur Strong

00:15 Weather 00:20 My Right to Die: Debbie's Story 00:50 Alex Polizzi: The Fixer 01:50 The Super­Rich and Us 02:50 This Is BBC Two 05:00 Biomimetics ­ Designed

by Nature 05:30 Schools ­ Deadly Dilemmas: Mission Madagascar 06:00 Schools ­ Life on Planet Ant 06:30 Schools ­ The Great British Year 07:05 Homes Under the Hammer 08:05 Saints and Scroungers 08:50 Helicopter Heroes Down Under 09:20 Channel Patrol 10:05 Kate Humble ­ Into the Volcano 11:05 Great British Railway Journeys 11:35 HARDtalk 12:00 BBC News 12:30 BBC World News 13:00 Daily Politics 14:00 Coast 14:20 The War Lords 14:50 The Road to War 15:40 Mountain 16:40 Open All Hours 17:10 To the Manor Born 17:40 Hi­de­Hi! 18:15 Flog It! 19:00 Eggheads 19:30 The Great Antiques Map of Britain 20:00 Antiques Road Trip 21:00 Alex Polizzi: The Fixer 22:00 Inside the Commons 23:00 Rory Bremner's Coalition Report 23:30 Newsnight

00:45 The Kyle Files 01:10 Jackpot247 04:00 The Jeremy Kyle Show USA 04:40 ITV Nightscreen 06:05 The Jeremy Kyle Show 07:00 Good Morning Britain 09:30 Lorraine 10:25 The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30 This Morning 11:55 ITV News 11:59 ITV Meridian Weather 12:00 This Morning 13:30 Loose Women 14:30 ITV News and Weather 14:55 ITV Meridian Weather 14:55 ITV News Meridian 15:00 Judge Rinder 16:00 Tipping Point 16:59 ITV Meridian Weather 17:00 Mel & Sue 18:00 The Chase 19:00 ITV News Meridian 19:30 ITV News and Weather 20:00 Emmerdale 20:30 Deirdre and Me: A Tribute 21:00 Bad Builders ­ Bang to Rights 22:00 Paul O'Grady's Animal Orphans 23:00 ITV News at Ten and Weather 23:30 ITV Meridian Weather 23:30 ITV News Meridian 23:40 Benidorm

00:40 24 Hours in A&E 01:35 Walking the Nile 02:30 Man vs Weird 03:25 Jon Richardson Grows Up 04:20 A Place in the Sun: Home or Away 05:15 Kirstie's Vintage Gems 05:30 SuperScrimpers 05:40 Deal or No Deal 06:35 Face the Clock 07:00 Countdown 07:45 The King of Queens 08:10 3rd Rock from the Sun 09:00 Frasier 10:05 Everybody Loves Raymond 11:05 Undercover Boss USA 12:00 Car SOS 13:00 Channel 4 News Summary 13:05 Come Dine with Me 14:05 Three in a Bed 15:10 Countdown 16:00 Deal or No Deal 17:00 Shipping Wars UK 17:45 Couples Come Dine with Me 18:30 The Simpsons 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 Channel 4 News 21:00 The Jump 22:00 24 Hours in Police Custody 23:00 Ramsay's Hotel Hell 23:55 The Mega Brothel

00:00 Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side 01:00 Botched Up Bodies 02:00 SuperCasino 04:10 Britain's Flashiest Families 05:00 Michaela's Wild Challenge 05:25 Divine Designs 05:45 House Doctor 07:00 The WotWots 07:10 Igam Ogam 07:20 Fireman Sam 07:30 Toot the Tiny Tugboat 07:45 Peppa Pig 07:55 Pip Ahoy!

08:10 Little Princess 08:20 The Mr Men Show 08:35 Thomas & Friends 08:50 Noddy in Toyland 09:00 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 09:15 Peppa Pig 09:35 Toby's Travelling Circus 09:45 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Tickety Toc 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:10 Cowboy Traders 13:10 5 News Lunchtime 13:15 Celebrity Big Brother 14:15 Home and Away 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 NCIS 16:15 Undercover Bridesmaid 18:00 5 News at 5 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Home and Away 19:30 5 News Tonight 20:00 Benefits 21:00 Benidorm ER 22:00 Celebrity Big Brother 23:00 10,000 BC

00:00 Family Guy 01:30 South Side Story 02:00 Cuckoo 02:30 Excluded: Kicked Out of School 03:30 Don't Tell the Bride 04:30 South Side Story 05:00 Close 20:00 Don't Tell the Bride 21:00 Motorway Cops 22:00 Excluded: Kicked Out of School 23:00 Russell Howard's Good News 23:30 EastEnders

00:30 The Strange Case of the Law 01:30 The Cricklewood Greats 02:15 The Treasure Hunters 03:15 Sounds of the 70s 2 03:45 Regina: The First Woman Rabbi 04:45 Close 20:00 World News Today 20:30 Great Continental Railway Journeys 21:00 Digging for Britain 22:00 Timewatch 23:00 Smiley's People

01:10 Two and a Half Men

00:00 Law & Order: UK

02:05 Animal Practice

01:05 Wycliffe

02:30 Fake Reaction

02:10 The Royal

03:05 The Hot Desk

03:00 ITV3 Nightscreen

03:15 Teleshopping

03:30 Teleshopping

06:45 ITV2 Nightscreen

07:00 Rising Damp

07:00 Life's Funniest

07:25 Wycliffe

Moments

08:25 Heartbeat

07:25 You've Been Framed!

09:25 Where the Heart Is

07:45 Emmerdale

10:40 The Royal

08:15 Coronation Street

11:40 Judge Judy

09:15 The Cube

13:00 Murder, She Wrote

10:15 Psych

14:00 Heartbeat

11:10 The Chase

15:00 Where the Heart Is

12:15 All Star Family Fortunes

16:10 The Royal

13:15 Emmerdale

17:15 Never the Twain

13:40 Coronation Street

17:50 Fresh Fields

14:45 Psych

18:20 On the Buses

15:40 The Jeremy Kyle Show

18:55 Heartbeat

19:00 You've Been Framed!

20:00 Murder, She Wrote

20:30 The Mummy Returns

21:00 Midsomer Murders

23:00 Cockroaches

23:00 The Kindness of

23:35 Plebs

Strangers

00:00 Bundesliga Football Highlights 01:00 LV= Cup Rugby Union 02:00 River Monsters: Untold Stories 02:50 River Monsters 03:45 ITV4 Nightscreen 04:00 Teleshopping 07:00 Greatest FA Cup Final Goals 07:10 The Big Match Revisited 08:00 Minder 09:00 The Professionals 10:00 Hogan's Heroes 11:00 Magnum, PI 12:00 Minder 13:00 Ax Men 14:00 The Professionals 15:00 Magnum, PI 16:00 Goodwood: Cars of the Future 17:00 Hogan's Heroes 18:00 Minder 19:00 Ax Men 20:00 Pawn Stars 20:30 Pawn Stars 21:00 The Chase 22:00 Benidorm 23:00 Monty Python's The Meaning of Life

DON’T MISS

INSIDE THE COMMONS 22:00 - BBC TWO

Michael Cockerell presents a documentary filmed over the course of a year in the House of Commons, giving an insight into the day­to­day life and work of everyone from the Prime Minister to those who maintain the building. Cameras follow relatively new MPs Charlotte Leslie and Sarah Champion as they learn the ways of the House, while David Cameron and his opposite number Ed Miliband reveal what happens at Prime Minister's Questions. The programme also meets a gospel­ singing tea lady who works in the members' tea room and joins a main­ tenance team abseiling down the face of the clock tower.

COURIER TV GUIDE ­ Friday 30th January to Thursday 5th February

WEDNESDAY

25

4th FEBRUARY

00:15 Gareth Thomas: Game Changer 01:15 Forget Me Not 02:45 Weather for the Week Ahead 02:50 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Wanted Down Under Revisited 11:00 Homes Under the Hammer 12:00 Saints and Scroungers 12:45 Helicopter Heroes Down Under 13:15 Bargain Hunt 14:00 BBC News; Weather 14:45 Doctors 15:15 Father Brown 16:00 The Link 16:45 Escape to the Country 17:30 Antiques Road Trip 18:15 Pointless 19:00 BBC News 19:30 Weather 19:30 BBC London News 20:00 The One Show 20:30 Match of the Day Live 23:00 BBC News 23:25 National Lottery Update 23:25 BBC Regional News and Weather 23:45 A Question of Sport

00:15 Weather 00:20 Dragons' Den 01:20 Film 2015 01:50 This Is BBC Two 04:50 Schools ­ Make a Musical 05:50 House of Sound 06:30 Schools: Compose Yourself 07:00 Homes Under the Hammer 08:00 Saints and Scroungers 08:45 Helicopter Heroes Down Under 09:15 Wanted Down Under 10:00 Life Story 11:00 Great British Railway Journeys 11:30 See Hear 12:00 BBC News 12:30 Daily Politics 14:00 Coast 14:20 The War Lords 14:50 The Road to War 15:40 Mountain 16:40 Open All Hours 17:10 To the Manor Born 17:40 Hi­de­Hi! 18:15 Flog It! 19:00 Eggheads 19:30 The Great Antiques Map of Britain 20:00 Antiques Road Trip 21:00 Alaska ­ Earth's Frozen Kingdom 22:00 Wolf Hall 23:00 Up the Women 23:30 Newsnight

00:10 Carry On Jack

00:00 Family Guy

00:00 The Joy of the Guitar Riff 01:00 Great Guitar Riffs at the BBC 02:00 Bright Lights, Brilliant Minds: A Tale of Three Cities 03:00 Digging for Britain 04:00 Timewatch 05:00 Close 20:00 World News Today 20:30 Great Continental Railway Journeys 21:00 The Most Dangerous Man in Tudor England 22:00 Egypt's Lost Cities 23:30 Battle for The Himalayas: The Fight to Film Everest

01:30 Excluded: Kicked Out of School 02:30 South Side Story 03:00 Bangkok Airport 03:55 Excluded: Kicked Out of School 04:55 Close 20:00 Top Gear 21:00 Bangkok Airport 22:00 Abortion: Ireland's Guilty Secret?

23:00 Live at the Apollo 23:30 Live at the Apollo

DON’T MISS

GP´S: BEHIND CLOSED DOORS 21:00 - CHANNEL FIVE

The observational documentary returns, this time giving an insight into the work of doctors at Putneymead Group Medical Practice in Putney, south­west London. Dr Tim King treats Vittoria, who has been injured during an assault and also has an agonising throat infection, but the real root of her problems is her alcohol dependency and before long the appointment descends into chaos. Dr Ashleigh Helm diagnoses a frightened patient with early onset dementia, while Dr Don McKenzie has a consultation with Harold, a terminal cancer patient who has been told that he has just months to live.

23:40 Bring Back Borstal

01:00 Poker 01:55 KOTV Boxing Weekly 02:25 Trans World Sport 03:25 Itera Expedition Race 03:50 Killarney Adventure Race 04:15 Sarah Beeny's Double Your House for Half the Money 05:10 A Place in the Sun: Home or Away 06:05 Deal or No Deal 07:00 Countdown 07:45 The King of Queens 08:10 3rd Rock from the Sun 09:00 Frasier 10:05 Everybody Loves Raymond 11:05 Undercover Boss USA 12:00 Car SOS 13:00 Channel 4 News Summary 13:05 Come Dine with Me 14:05 Three in a Bed 15:10 Countdown 16:00 Deal or No Deal 17:00 Shipping Wars UK 17:45 Couples Come Dine with Me 18:30 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 Channel 4 News 21:00 The Jump 22:00 24 Hours in A&E 23:00 Bodyshockers

00:00 Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side 01:00 10 Things I Hate About 02:00 SuperCasino 04:10 Age Gap Love 05:00 Michaela's Wild Challenge 05:25 Divine Designs 05:50 House Doctor 07:00 The WotWots 07:10 Igam Ogam 07:20 Fireman Sam 07:30 Toot the Tiny Tugboat 07:45 Peppa Pig 07:55 Pip Ahoy!

08:10 Little Princess 08:20 The Mr Men Show 08:35 Thomas & Friends 08:50 Noddy in Toyland 09:00 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 09:15 Peppa Pig 09:35 Toby's Travelling Circus 09:45 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Tickety Toc 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:10 Cowboy Traders 13:10 5 News Lunchtime 13:15 Celebrity Big Brother 14:15 Home and Away 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 NCIS 16:15 Another Man's Wife 18:00 5 News at 5 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Home and Away 19:30 5 News Tonight 20:00 Cowboy Builders 21:00 GPs: Behind Closed Doors 22:00 Celebrity Big Brother 23:00 Age Gap Love

00:05 Plebs 00:35 Two and a Half Men 01:35 Fool Britannia 02:00 Fake Reaction 02:35 You've Been Framed!

03:00 Life's Funniest Moments 03:20 Teleshopping 06:50 ITV2 Nightscreen 07:00 Life's Funniest Moments 07:25 You've Been Framed!

07:45 Emmerdale 08:15 You've Been Framed!

09:15 The Cube 10:15 Psych 11:10 The Chase 12:15 All Star Family Fortunes 13:15 Emmerdale 13:40 You've Been Framed!

14:45 Psych 15:40 The Jeremy Kyle Show 19:00 You've Been Framed!

20:55 Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde 23:00 Little Man

00:30 Law & Order: UK 01:35 The Royal 02:25 Judge Judy 03:05 ITV3 Nightscreen 03:30 Teleshopping 07:00 Fresh Fields 07:25 Wycliffe 08:25 Heartbeat 09:25 Where the Heart Is 10:35 The Royal 11:40 Judge Judy 13:00 Murder, She Wrote 14:00 Heartbeat 15:00 Where the Heart Is 16:10 The Royal 17:15 Never the Twain 17:50 Fresh Fields 18:20 On the Buses 18:55 Heartbeat 19:55 Murder, She Wrote 21:00 Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs 21:30 Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs 22:00 Hotel in the Clouds 23:00 The Kindness of Strangers

01:15 The Blues Brothers

01:45 Jackpot247 04:00 Loose Women 04:45 ITV Nightscreen 06:05 The Jeremy Kyle Show 07:00 Good Morning Britain 09:30 Lorraine 10:25 The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30 This Morning 11:55 ITV News 11:59 ITV Meridian Weather 12:00 This Morning 13:30 Loose Women 14:30 ITV News and Weather 14:55 ITV Meridian Weather 14:55 ITV News Meridian 15:00 Judge Rinder 16:00 Tipping Point 16:59 ITV Meridian Weather 17:00 Mel & Sue 18:00 The Chase 19:00 ITV News Meridian 19:30 ITV News and Weather 20:00 Emmerdale 20:30 Coronation Street 21:00 Midsomer Murders 23:00 ITV News at Ten and Weather 23:30 ITV Meridian Weather 23:30 ITV News Meridian

03:40 Movies Now 03:45 ITV4 Nightscreen 04:00 Teleshopping 07:00 UEFA Champions League Greatest Goals 07:10 The Big Match Revisited 08:00 Minder 09:00 The Professionals 10:00 Hogan's Heroes 11:05 Magnum, PI 12:05 Minder 13:10 Ax Men 14:05 The Professionals 15:05 Magnum, PI 16:05 Pawn Stars 16:35 Pawn Stars 17:00 Hogan's Heroes 18:05 Highway Patrol 18:30 Ax Men 19:30 Africa Cup of Nations Live 22:30 Memphis Belle

26

COURIER TV GUIDE ­ Friday 30th January to Thursday 5th February

THURSDAY

5th FEBRUARY

00:15 Film 2015 00:45 Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil 03:10 Weather for the Week Ahead 03:15 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Wanted Down Under Revisited 11:00 Homes Under the Hammer 12:00 Saints and Scroungers 12:45 Helicopter Heroes Down Under 13:15 Bargain Hunt 14:00 BBC News; Weather 14:45 Doctors 15:15 Father Brown 16:00 The Link 16:45 Escape to the Country 17:30 Antiques Road Trip 18:15 Pointless 19:00 BBC News 19:30 Weather 19:30 BBC London News 20:00 The One Show 20:30 BBC News; Regional News 20:30 EastEnders 21:00 Eat Well for Less?

22:00 Death in Paradise 23:00 BBC News 23:25 BBC Regional News and Weather 23:45 Question Time

00:15 Weather 00:20 Inside the Commons 01:20 See Hear 01:50 Posh People: Inside Tatler 02:50 This Is BBC Two 05:00 Schools ­ Making Media 05:30 Ten Pieces Extra 06:10 Ten Pieces 07:05 Homes Under the Hammer 08:05 Saints and Scroungers 08:50 Helicopter Heroes Down Under 09:20 Wanted Down Under 10:05 Six Puppies and Us 11:05 Great British Railway Journeys 11:35 HARDtalk 12:00 BBC News 12:30 BBC World News 13:00 Daily Politics 14:00 Coast 14:25 The War Lords 14:55 The Road to War 15:45 Mountain 16:45 Open All Hours 17:15 To the Manor Born 17:45 Hi­de­Hi! 18:15 Flog It! 19:00 Eggheads 19:30 The Great Antiques Map of Britain 20:00 Antiques Road Trip 21:00 The Great British Sewing Bee 22:00 Modern Times 23:00 Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe 23:30 Newsnight

00:35 I Never Knew That About Britain 01:05 Jackpot247 04:00 The Jeremy Kyle Show USA 04:40 ITV Nightscreen 06:05 The Jeremy Kyle Show 07:00 Good Morning Britain 09:30 Lorraine 10:25 The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30 This Morning 11:55 ITV News 11:59 ITV Meridian Weather 12:00 This Morning 13:30 Loose Women 14:30 ITV News and Weather 14:55 ITV Meridian Weather 14:55 ITV News Meridian 15:00 Judge Rinder 16:00 Tipping Point 16:59 ITV Meridian Weather 17:00 Mel & Sue 18:00 The Chase 19:00 ITV News Meridian 19:30 ITV News and Weather 20:00 Emmerdale 20:30 The Kyle Files 21:00 Emmerdale 21:30 Birds of a Feather 22:00 Car Crash Britain 23:00 ITV News at Ten and Weather 23:30 ITV Meridian Weather 23:30 ITV News Meridian 23:40 Kylie: Kiss Me Once

00:00 The Undateables 01:00 Launched at Red Bull Studios 01:30 Ramsay's Hotel Hell 02:20 Barney's Version 04:40 A Place in the Sun: Home or Away 05:35 Deal or No Deal 06:30 Face the Clock 07:00 Countdown 07:45 The King of Queens 08:10 3rd Rock from the Sun 09:05 Frasier 10:00 Everybody Loves Raymond 11:05 Undercover Boss USA 12:00 Car SOS 13:00 Channel 4 News Summary 13:05 Come Dine with Me 14:05 Three in a Bed 15:10 Countdown 16:00 Deal or No Deal 17:00 Shipping Wars UK 17:45 Couples Come Dine with Me 18:30 The Simpsons 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 Channel 4 News 21:00 The Jump 22:00 Cucumber 23:00 Married Behind Bars

00:00 Family Guy 00:45 American Dad! 01:10 Family Guy 01:30 Abortion: Ireland's Guilty Secret?

02:30 Excluded: Kicked Out of School 03:30 Crims 04:00 Abortion: Ireland's Guilty Secret?

05:00 Close 20:00 Top Gear 21:00 EastEnders: 30 Years of Cliffhangers 22:00 Bangkok Airport 23:00 Crims 23:30 EastEnders

00:30 The Epic of Everest

01:05 Cockroaches 01:35 Two and a Half Men 02:05 Two and a Half Men 02:30 Tricked 03:20 Teleshopping 06:50 ITV2 Nightscreen 07:00 Life's Funniest Moments 07:25 You've Been Framed!

07:45 Emmerdale 08:15 Coronation Street 08:45 You've Been Framed!

09:15 The Cube 10:15 Psych 11:10 The Chase 12:15 All Star Family Fortunes 13:15 Emmerdale 13:40 Coronation Street 14:15 Deirdre and Me: A Tribute 14:45 Psych 15:40 The Jeremy Kyle Show 19:00 You've Been Framed!

21:00 Two and a Half Men 22:00 Scorpion 23:00 The Keith Lemon Sketch Show 23:30 Reality Bites

00:35 Law & Order: UK

DON’T MISS

01:55 Sammy Davis Jr: The Kid in the Middle 02:55 Top of the Pops: 1980 03:40 The Most Dangerous Man in Tudor England 04:40 Close 20:00 World News Today 20:30 Top of the Pops: 1980 21:00 Horizon 22:00 Pompeii: The Mystery of the People Frozen in Time 23:00 Timewatch

POMPEII: THE MYSTERY OF THE PEOPLE FROZEN IN TIME 22:00 - BBC FOUR

Documentary in which Margaret Mountford visits the Roman town of Pompeii, where in 79AD the catastrophic eruption of Vesuvius encased its citizens in lava, creating body casts that populate the ruins. No one has yet been able to fully explain how these people became frozen in time, so while forensic scientists peer beneath the plaster to rebuild the faces of two victims and recreate the final moments of the townsfolk, Margaret dispels the myths surrounding the events in 79AD and explores the lives of the individuals who lived in the enigmatic city.

01:35 The Royal 02:30 Wycliffe 03:30 Teleshopping 07:00 Fresh Fields 07:25 Wycliffe 08:25 Heartbeat 09:25 Where the Heart Is 10:35 The Royal 11:40 Judge Judy 13:00 Murder, She Wrote 14:00 Heartbeat 15:00 Where the Heart Is 16:10 The Royal 17:15 Never the Twain 17:50 Fresh Fields 18:20 On the Buses 18:55 Heartbeat 19:55 Murder, She Wrote 21:00 Foyle's War 23:00 Trial & Retribution

00:00 Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side 01:00 Trauma Doctors 02:00 SuperCasino 04:10 Botched Up Bodies 05:00 Michaela's Wild Challenge 05:25 Divine Designs 05:45 House Doctor 07:00 The WotWots 07:10 Igam Ogam 07:20 Fireman Sam 07:30 Toot the Tiny Tugboat 07:45 Peppa Pig 07:55 Pip Ahoy!

08:10 Little Princess 08:20 The Mr Men Show 08:35 Thomas & Friends 08:50 Noddy in Toyland 09:00 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 09:15 Peppa Pig 09:35 Toby's Travelling Circus 09:45 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Tickety Toc 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:10 Cowboy Traders 13:10 5 News Lunchtime 13:15 Celebrity Big Brother 14:15 Home and Away 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 NCIS 16:15 Seduced by Lies 18:00 5 News at 5 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Home and Away 19:30 5 News Tonight 20:00 The Classic Car Show 21:00 Secrets Of 22:00 Celebrity Big Brother 23:00 Botched Up Bodies

00:40 The Enforcer 02:35 Bread and Circuses 03:30 Hogan's Heroes 03:50 ITV4 Nightscreen 04:00 Teleshopping 07:00 UEFA Champions League Greatest Matches 07:10 The Big Match Revisited 08:00 Minder 09:00 The Professionals 10:00 Hogan's Heroes 11:05 Magnum, PI 12:05 Minder 13:05 Ax Men 14:00 The Professionals 15:00 Magnum, PI 16:00 Highway Patrol 16:25 Hogan's Heroes 17:30 Minder 18:30 Ax Men 19:30 Africa Cup of Nations Live 22:30 Bundesliga Football Highlights 23:30 The Quest

Friday 30th January 2015

27

28

COURIER TV GUIDE ­ Friday 30th January to Thursday 5th February

CODE CRACKER Code Cracker is a crossword puzzle with no clues; instead, every letter of the alphabet has been replaced by a number, the same number representing the same letter throughout the puzzle. All you have to do is decide which letter is represented by which number. In this week’s puzzle, 10 represents N and 16 represents Q, when these letters have been entered throughout the puzzle, you should have enough information to start guessing words and discovering other letters.

QUICKIE

Across

Down

1 Travel through water (4) 4 Quick (4) 9 Belief (7) 10 Child (5) 11 Choose (5) 12 Shock (7) 13 Son of your brother or sister (6) 15 Shriek (6) 19 Allegory (7) 21 Tubers (5) 23 Associates (5) 24 Greed (7) 25 Overtake (4) 26 Not any (4)

2 Produce a high­pitched sound from the mouth (7) 3 Sixty seconds (6) 4 Thighbone (5) 5 First light of day (7) 6 Rule (6) 7 Eat (4) 8 Address a deity (4) 14 Carnivorous river fish (7) 16 Drapery (7) 17 Captain (6) 18 Stay (6) 19 Wan (4) 20 Foundation (5) 22 Leave out (4)

Last weeks Solution

Across: 1 Bird, 4 Sack, 9 Often, 10 Routine, 11 Run, 12 Excellent, 13 Greasy, 14 Badger, 18 Escalator, 21 Rat, 23 Deliver, 24 Brave, 25 Ally, 26 Ties.

Down: 2 Intense, 3 Dangers, 4 Strict, 5 Cruel, 6 Poor, 7 Give, 8 Better, 13 Greedy, 15 Acrobat, 16 Garbage, 17 Sturdy, 19 Calm, 20 Level, 22 Toes.

Scribble Pad

DOUBLE CROSS-WORD Solve the Double Cross­Word puzzle using either the standard or cryptic clues, the answers are exactly the same.

CRYTPIC CLUES Across 1 Game backlash (4) 4 Hans is new style town planner (4) 9 Bounders’ foot parts (5) 10 Write about a side view (7) 11 ‘Jumped over it almost’ cries the cow (3) 12 Right, vote here and change in that place (4,5) 13 Acclimatise model and French aunt (6) 14 Lashes out in scuffle (6) 18 Relatives become adaptable (9) 21 Subdue small company to start with (3) 23 Fix blemishes and cure hot ailment (7) 24 Manual for a director (5) 25 Use a spoon back in the bunker, it seems (4) 26 Stinking row (4)

Down 2 Expand and start the innings before being dis­ missed (4,3) 3 Garland made of notes (7) 4 Little one who gets a grip of things (6) 5 Chooses Portsmouth to host the game (5) 6 A close friend is much troubled (4) 7 Sort of snack that would suit an angler (4) 8 Harsh to cut the last tie (6) 13 Somehow braved reck­ lessly, for example (6) 15 Badly engrave ‘retalia­ tor’ (7) 16 Notices about the parti­ tion (7) 17 Damaged their last musical instrument (6) 19 Bunk and a roll (4) 20 Big promotion last month (5) 22 Three points about river bird (4)

Down STANDARD CLUES 2 Expand (4,3) Across 1 Ball game (4) 3 Adorn (7) 4 American poet (4) 4 Claw (6) 9 Parts of shoes (5) 5 Recreation (5) 10 Side view (7) 6 Buddy (4) 11 Sound made by 21A (3) 7 Seize with teeth (4) 12 Yonder (4,5) 8 Very strict (6) 13 Adjust (6) 14 Bother (6) 13 Modifying word (6) 18 Capable of many uses 15 Retaliator (7) (9) 16 Division (7) 21 Bovine (3) 17 Stringed instrument (6) 23 Improve or repair (7) 19 Roster (4) 24 Lead (5) 20 Grown­up (5) 25 Agitate (4) 22 Small bird (4) 26 Row (4) Last weeks Solution Across: 1 Scum, 4 Hades, 9 Orbiter, 10 Gavel, 11 Palma, 12 Sea legs, 13 Rabies, 15 Bedsit, 19 Sliding, 21 Helix, 23 Hello, 24 Tactile, 25 Doses, 26 Lady.

Down: 2 Cabal, 3 Methane, 4 Heresy, 5 Dogma, 6 Soviets, 7 Copper, 8 Elms, 14 Bridled, 16 Ethical, 17 Taxied, 18 Agates, 19 Soho, 20 Idols, 22 Laird.

FILL IT IN

Complete the crossword grid by using the given words:

2 letter words As At Be To 3 letter words Act Ago Are Cab Dot Eat Ens Era Eve Gee Gnu Hew Hoe

Hue Kit Lea Net Oat Opt Pad Pan Pet Pie Pig Pot Ran Red Ski Sly Wed 4 letter words Ages Aids

Anew Aper Best Biro Bore Burr Busy Cape Case Cite Gets Gore Ires Isle Lass Lath Lest Lots Papa Poet Pure

Rage Sale Sick Slat Smut Sole Spas Spat Sure Urns Yeti 5 letter words Aunty Avail Bread Clove Cooks Later Litre Ogres

Pants Pearl Petty Tense 6 letter words Assets Cheese Cirrus Grassy Salted Thwart 7 letter words Atelier Sidearm 8 letter words Overalls Settlers

SPANISH-ENGLISH CROSSWORD

Improve your Spanish ­ clues in Spanish, answers in English or vice versa.

Across 1 Lápiz de labios (8) 5 No Clue 9 Cloudy (sky, day, weather) (7) 10 Gigante (5) 11 Sedas (5) 12 Espinacas (7) 13 Lawn (6) 15 Falcon (6) 18 Blowtorch (7) 20 Behind (at the back) (5) 22 Dejar (5) 23 To smile (person) (7) 24 Jabón (4) 25 Transfer (move) (8)

Down 1 Monday (5) 2 Guijarros (piedras) (7) 3 Equipos (deporte) (5) 4 Elegir (escoger) (6) 6 Stage (phase) (5) 7 Cocina (habitación) (7) 8 Eagle (6) 13 Castillos (7) 14 Once (6) 16 Plum (7) 17 To think (6) 19 Silver (5) 20 Asses (donkeys) (5) 21 Serious (not frivolous) (5)

29

COURIER TV GUIDE ­ Friday 30th January to Thursday 5th February Across 1 ‘With your long blonde hair and your eyes of blue’ is the opening line of which song that was a UK hit for both the Merseys and David Bowie? (6) 4 From the Greek for ‘line measuring across’, what is the name of the straight line pass­ ing from side to side through the centre of a circle or sphere?

(8) 9 What name is given to the red powder or cream used as a cosmetic for colouring the cheeks or lips? (5) 10 According to Christian mythology, what was the name of the dish, plate, or cup used

by Jesus at the Last Supper, said to possess miraculous powers? (4,5) 11 What was the surname of the British home secretary who helped create the modern con­ cept of the police force? (4) 12 Which British boy band active in the late 1980s and early 1990s, consisted of twins Matt Goss and Luke Goss along with Craig Logan? (4) 13 What was the name of the household pet cat of Bill Clinton, during his presidential terms in the White House? (5) 15 What name is usually applied to ‘the tidal mouth of a large river’? (7)

16 During a game of golf, which word is shouted out as a warning when it appears possi­ ble that a golf ball may hit other players or spectators? (4) 19 What is the surname of the lyricist who is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita? (4) 20 What name is given to a negatively charged electrode that is the source of electrons entering an electrical device?

(7) 23 Which rhythmic dance with Spanish and African ele­ ments, originated in Cuba? (5) 24 By what name is a fur­ nace or oven for burning, bak­ ing, or drying, especially one for firing pottery, usually known?

(4) 25 Which word can precede: act, age, arm, blown, call, cast, draft and draw? (4) 27 By what name is ‘a river or stream flowing into a larger river or lake’ usually known? (9) 28 What is the name of the public announcement of an intended marriage read out in a parish church? (5) 29 What word meaning ‘the feeling that a person or a thing

SUDOKU (Medium)

is worthless or beneath consid­ eration, comes from the Latin

Down

for ‘despise’? (8) 30 What name for ‘scattered items or pieces of rubbish’ comes from the French for ‘break down’? (6)

1 How are the small metal fragments thrown out by the explosion of a shell or bomb normally referred to? (8) 2 The name of which casino

gambling game comes from the French word for ‘small wheel’? (8) 3 Which river in Central Europe begins in the Czech Republic and flows through western Poland, later forming the northern 187 km of the bor­ der between Poland and Germany? (4) 5 St Mary’s, Tresco, St Martins, Bryher and St Agnes all form part of which archipela­ go off the south­western tip of England, near the entrance to the English Channel? (5,2,6) 6 What name is given to a civil officer who administers the law, especially one who con­ ducts a court concerned with minor offences and holds pre­ liminary hearings for more seri­ ous ones? (10) 7 By what name is a roof covering of straw, reeds, or similar material usually known?

(6) 8 Which word can mean both ‘enjoy greatly’ and ‘a piquant sauce or pickle eaten with plain food to add flavour’?

(6) 10 Which former profession­ al footballer has managed: Bournemouth (1983­1992), West Ham United (1994­2001), Portsmouth (2002­2004), Southampton (2004­2005),

Portsmouth (2005­2008), Tottenham Hotspur (2008­ 2012) and Queens Park Rangers (2012 ­ present)?

(5,8) 14 What name is often given to a depiction of a person in which distinguishing character­ istics are exaggerated for comic or grotesque effect? (10) 17 What name for ‘a thing that is kept as a reminder of a person, place, or event’ is derived from the Latin for ‘occur to the mind’? (8) 18 What name is sometimes applied to a mild mental illness not caused by organic disease and involving symptoms such as depression, anxiety, obses­ sive behaviour, or hypochon­ dria? (8) 21 The region around the North Pole is often referred to as the (what)? (6) 22 What is the name of the innermost membrane of the sac enclosing the embryo of a mammal, reptile, or bird? (6) 26 Which double­reed wood­ wind instrument has a range of nearly three octaves and a high, penetrating, melancholy tone? (4)

SALLY’S SIMPLE SPANISH CUIDADO MEDICO – MEDICAL CARE Match these words with their Spanish translations then find them in the wordsearch.

(Answers below)

el cirujano

la curita

el estetoscopio

la enfermera

el jarabe

la pomada

el medico

la receta

el soporte

la silla de ruedas

la camilla

las muletas

la cita

los rayos equis

movies/tv QUIZ

ANSEWRS: 1. Haddock 2. Goats Named Tanngrisni Tanngnost 3. I'm Still Waiting 4. Dawn Swann 5. Bury 6.

Hercules 7. Neil Morrisey 8. Lady Ghislaine 9. Bleak House 10. Sn 11. Cheryl Cole 12. Prinz Eugen

Last Week’s Solutions Code Cracker Last weeks Quiz Word Solution Across: 7 Grease, 8 Lancet, 9 King, 10 Kim Novak, 11 Faggots, 13 Bates, 15 Fauna, 17 Sweeney, 20 Balmoral, 21 Mars, 22 Jordan, 23 Taiwan.

Down: 1 Eroica, 2 Fang, 3 Beckett, 4 Alamo, 5 Annotate, 6 De Sade, 12 Ganymede, 14 Twelfth, 16 Amazon, 18 Earwax, 19 Grant, 21 Muir.

Empareja estas palabras ­ Match the Spanish and English words You will find the answers at the bottom of the quiz.

1.el cirujano, 2.el estetoscopio,

12.la silla de ruedas,

g.the wheelchair, h.the surgeon,

3.el jarabe, 4.el medico,

13.las muletas,

i.the nurse, j.the plaster,

5.el soporte, 6.la camilla,

14.los rayos equis

k.the stetescope, l.the stretcher,

7.la cita, 8.la curita,

a.the prescription, b.the doctor,

m.the syrup, n.the appointment.

9.la enfermera, 10.la pomada,

c.the X­ray, d.the ointment,

11.la receta,

e.the sling, f.the crutches,

Soduko

Span ­ Eng

Quizword

Answers: 1h, 2k, 3m, 4b, 5e, 6l, 7n, 8j, 9i, 10d, 11a, 12g, 13f, 14c.

1. Which fish is used to make an 'Arbroath Smokie'?

2. In Norse mythology Thor's chariot is pulled by two what?

3. What was Diana Ross's first solo U.K. Number One single?

4. Who portrays 'Kara Tointon' in TV's 'Eastenders'?

5. Which English football league club play their home games at 'Gigg Lane'?

6. In Greek mythology Deianeira was the wife of whom?

7. Who is the voice of 'Bob the Builder'?

8. What was the name of the boat which was the sus­ picious scene of death for Robert Maxwell?

9. Which of Charles Dickens books was the only one with a female narrator?

10. What is the chemical symbol for Tin? Sn 11. Who had a 'Number One' single, 'Fight For This Love', and a 'Number One' album, in the U.K. charts in the same week, in November 2009?

12. Which German ship accompanied the Bismarck on its only voyage into the Atlantic when it sank H.M.S. Hood?

Fill It In

30

Friday 30th January 2015

ONE MILLION ASTHMA SUFFERERS MAY NOT HAVE THE CONDITION The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (Nice) has warned that around one third of diagnosed adults do not have asthma More than a million asthma suffer­ ers may not actually have the condi­ tion and could be taking unneces­ sary medication the NHS watchdog has warned.

The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (Nice) has warned that around one third of adults show no clinical signs of the chronic lung problem and could be at risk from the side effects of asthma drugs.

The watchdog has drafted new guidelines for doctors which are currently out for consul­ tation and could become standard by the summer.

The new guidance advises doctors to use more clinical tests to back up their judgement and avoid the danger of wrongly labelling someone as having asthma.

Prof Mark Baker, director of clinical practice at NICE, told the BBC: "Accurate diagnosis of asthma has been a significant problem which means that people may be wrongly diag­

nosed or cases might be missed in others.

"Our aim with this guideline is to give clarity and set out the most clinical and cost­effec­ tive ways to diagnose and monitor asthma based on the best available evidence."

The new guidelines state: “Diagnosis is principally based on a thorough history taken by an experienced clinician.

“It is therefore not surprising that studies of adults diagnosed with asthma suggest that up to 30 per cent do not have clear evidence of asthma.”

The NHS spends around £1 billion a year treating and caring for the 5.4 million people with asthma but many may be suffering from other respiratory diseases However charities say that under­diagnosis and under­treatment of asthma is still a grow­ ing problem and say people should continue taking prescribed medication.

Three people die every day because of asthma. Most of these deaths could have been avoided through better control of the

disease, says Asthma UK. Kay Boycott, Chief Executive at Asthma UK says: "Asthma has many complex causes which is one of the reasons why it is some­ times difficult to get a definitive diagnosis.

"It is also a highly variable condition that can change throughout someone's life or even week by week, meaning treatment can change over time.

"For anyone with an asthma diagnosis, it is vital they have the right medication and a plan to better manage their condition and any asthma attacks."

The best test to start with is spirometry ­ a machine which measures how much and how fast a person breathes out. Further breath tests may also be needed, says the guidance.

Over­treatment is a concern because some

of the drugs used to manage asthma can have significant side­effects including muscle cramps, throat infections, tremors, vomiting and nausea.

Although Asthma UK welcomes the new guidelines the charity warned that there is also evidence asthma is under­diagnosed too ­ and that eight out of 10 asthma sufferers are still not getting the correct basic care.

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory respirato­ ry disease. It can affect people of any age, but often starts in childhood. It is characterised by attacks of breathlessness and wheezing, with the severity and frequency of attacks varying from person to person.

The attacks are associated with variable airflow obstruction and inflammation within the lungs, which if left untreated can be life threatening, however with the appropriate treatment can be reversible.

Asthma prevalence is thought to have plateaued since the late 1990s, although the UK still has some of the highest rates in Europe and on average 3 people a day die from asthma.

There were 1,167 deaths from asthma in the UK in 2011, 18 of these were chil­ dren aged 14 and under.

An estimated 75 per cent of hospital admissions for asth­ ma are avoidable and as many as 90 per cent of the deaths from asthma are pre­ ventable.

Anyone who is concerned is advised to talk to their doc­ tor.

Friday 30th January 2015

Q

31

I wake­up five or six times per night due to having to drink water for my dry mouth. I have been putting ´Xylomelts´ into my mouth before going to sleep for a while now but they have started to make my mouth sore so have stopped using them. I have to visit the loo three or four times as a consequence of drinking so much, so sleep is very limited. Can you help me at all?

A

Dry mouth syndrome or xerostomia occurs when there is reduced production of saliva from the salivary glands as a result of a number of factors. However this is not always the case as some people who don’t secrete much saliva do not show signs of dry mouth, while others complaining of dry mouth may be producing normal quantities of saliva.

Certain symptoms are known to occur together with dry mouth such as; blurred vision, inability to cry, intolerance to light, and dryness of the nose, itchiness, as well as voice changes. Those who breathe through the mouth – mouth breathers are more prone to suffer from dry mouth and its complications.

The logical approach to therapy is to establish the pos­ sible causes of the problem rather than to jump into treat­ ing symptoms. Prescribed medications are a common cause of dry mouth, and it is estimated that over 500 pre­ scription medications cause dry mouth as a side effect. In fact over half of the most commonly prescribed medica­ tions are known to cause dry mouth.

Drugs used to manage blood pressure, antidepres­ sants, steroids, antihistamines and a host of other classes of medications can give rise to dry mouth. Are you on any medications? Have your medications been changed recently? A consequence of the downturn in economy especially here in Spain is the preference for cheaper and most likely low quality prescription drugs by public health doctors in order to reduce hospital costs.

Dry mouth can also be triggered by any condition that leads to loss of fluids from the body such as vomiting, diarrhoea, and excessive sweating. If you haven’t suffered from dry mouth most of your life, it is reasonable to

assume that it must have been triggered by something – drugs, foods, or chemicals. Perhaps you’ve recently moved home and this has led to a change in Lifestyle. Dry mouth can also be caused by worsening chronic disorders especially autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren’s disease and lupus. Xylimelts or Xylomelts con­ tains xylitol, a type of alcohol with a sweet taste that stim­ ulates the glands to produce saliva.

Dry mouth is also associated with a dysfunctional nerv­ ous system because salivary glands have complex nerve connections, and if these nerves become inflamed, the glands may produce a lot less saliva. Nutritional deficiencies can cause dry mouth because saliva although mostly made up of water, also contains sev­ eral minerals, proteins and enzymes that give it a unique consistency. Even though you may have a healthy diet, you may need to take supple­ ments to ensure you are receiving all essential nutri­ ents.

The presence of contami­ nants or toxins can also inflame the salivary glands, and this in turn affects the secretion of saliva. Poor den­ tal hygiene is also a common cause of dry mouth. An effec­ tive and cheap way to main­ tain adequate dental hygiene

is by swishing with 2 tablespoons of coconut oil for about 15 minutes every day for a week. This is called ‘Oil pulling’ and is a therapy that has been used for thousands of years by several cultures. This will extract toxins in the oral cavity. Sweets and candies also help increase the production of saliva and this alleviates the problem until a cure is found. And if these actions don’t help, you may need to consider having a full health­check to find out the root cause.

FOR A FULL BODY DIAGNOSTIC SCAN CALL DR MACHI MANNU: 965 071 745

HOW X-RAYS AND CT-SCANS CAUSE CANCER

X­rays and CT­scans are among the most commonly ordered medical investigations today. Such imaging diag­ nostic systems help doctors tell what´s wrong with the body by taking pictures of the internal organs, however they achieve this by exposing the body to deadly electromagnetic waves: X­rays. Unknown to a lot of people, CT­scans or CAT Scans (Computerized tomography) are essentially 3­D X­ray machines that are capable of taking pictures of the organs from multiple angles. And by doing so, they expose the body to radiation levels that are up to 1000 times those produced by X­ray machines. The relationship between human exposure to radiation and the development of cancer is well known and well documented. A single CT scan expos­

es the body to more radiation than is considered safe by experts. And as there are no standard guidelines regarding the amount of radiation used during a CT scan, it can be 50 times higher in some hospitals than in others. Furthermore, some health disorders tend to demand more CT scans than others. A recent study found that a third of patients undergo­ ing heart examinations in a New York hospital, received about 100 millisieverts of radiation – the equivalent of 5000 X­rays. Many medical experts fail to see how the increased use of CT­scans over the years has improved healthcare; in fact the opposite seems to be the case as many studies are now linking them to harmful health effects. A report spon­ sored by Susan G Komen – one of the biggest breast cancer

organisations in the world, concluded that radiation from medical imaging and hormone therapy were the leading environmental causes of breast cancer. The question to ask before a CT­scan or X­ray is: Do I really need one? Even more importantly: Are there other safer alternatives? For example, an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) is safer and more accurate than a CT­scan, but is rarely recom­ mended by doctors, perhaps due to high costs. And then there are very modern, accurate and extremely safe tech­ nologies such as the Sensitiv Imago Diagnostic technology used at MedB Diagnostic Clinic. To find out more visit www.medb.es or call Dr Machi Mannu on 965071745 TO BOOK A FULL BODY SCAN CALL 965 071 745

32

Horoscopes Aries March 21 ­ April 19 Do not listen to advice from friends this week, or you could misjudge a situation that preoccupies you now. With diplomatic Venus travelling through your chart’s most psychic zone from Wednesday you have a sixth sense for what is going on behind the scenes, so do things your way. Put an ambitious plan on hold until after next weekend.

Taurus April 20 ­ May 20 From Wednesday, when your ruler, Venus, will be travelling through the area of your skies that rules your social life, a friendship will take centre stage. You will find a way to solve a recent problem if you take the line of least resistance and relax, so do not try to go too far, too fast.

What matters most this week is living in the here and now.

Gemini May 21 ­ June 20 With your ruler, Mercury, stirring up confu­ sion in your chart’s zone of hopes and dreams, it could be hard to make deci­ sions, or to know precisely where you stand. You may come up with a new, inspired solution to a problem that has held you back if you let the situation be, so relax and focus on your social life instead.

The tide is due to turn.

Cancer June 21 ­ July 22 With so much action in the area of your skies that rules your long­term ambitions you could find it hard to focus on the here and now this week. Do not limit your horizons by trying to keep your feet on solid ground. With creative Venus and the action planet Mars the ideas you come up with now could trans­ form your prospects of success.

Friday 30th January 2015

By Pandora Leo July 23 ­ August 22 Misunderstandings caused by Mercury, the planet of communication, which is travelling backwards through the skies, could make you wonder if a certain goal is worth pursuing. Let the situation be and concentrate on your home life instead. You can bring about a break­ through if you are prepared to give a little ground. It could be simpler than you think.

Virgo August 23 ­ September 22 Shelve work commitments and domestic chores, and concentrate on what is hap­ pening in a close relationship this week.

With Mars and Venus, the planets of romance, helping you to forge new bonds you have extra powers of persuasion, so trust your intuition and your sense of tim­ ing. All you need to do to solve a recent problem is relax and be yourself.

Libra September 23 ­ October 22 If you draw up new, constructive plans and start to put them into action you can make real progress in the weeks to come, so concentrate on what you can achieve short­term. Unexpected feed­ back from a friend or colleague could also help you reach a goal you may have felt was way beyond your reach. Your determination will pay off.

Scorpio October 23 ­ November 21 Your financial situation may preoccupy you now. However, with lucky Venus and the action planet Mars helping you to get a new creative project off the ground, the tide is due to turn, so do not give up on it now or feel that you should change direc­ tion. An unexpected twist of fate midweek is also due to put you in a strong position.

Sagittarius November 22 ­ December 21 A link between the Sun and serious Saturn, which is travelling through your sign, is due to help you stand back and see your situation in perspective in the week ahead. If you keep your feet on solid ground you will be able to take full advan­ tage of the opportunities for growth. You can build firm foundations for the future now.

Capricorn December 22 ­ January 19 With diplomatic Venus in your chart’s communication zone in the weeks to come you can overcome resistance to your plans and reach a deeper under­ standing with a friend or loved one. You could also find that someone you would like to see much more of is prepared to come halfway to meet you. Take full advantage of the stars.

Aquarius January 20 ­ February 18 Just how important a new friendship has become should be clear this week, when the Sun aligns with Saturn, the planet of commitment. If you let events unfold, you will also gain a new advantage in a tricky situation. Do not let doubts colour your decisions, or you could jeopardise your chances of success.

Pisces February 19 ­ March 20 The romantic planet Venus joins passion­ ate Mars in Pisces, helping you to leave misunderstandings with a loved one in the past and usher in a whole new era. Do not let your recent doubts about a certain situ­ ation make you overcautious. Many things could change if you take a confident, upbeat approach, so trust your judgment now.

Friday 30th January 2015

33

RICHARD CAVENDER

Bluemoon Solutions www.bluemoonsolutions.es

BlueMoon Solutions is the computer and IT services com­ pany on the Costa Blanca, they provide quality computer services at realistic prices and specialise in working with home users and small businesses.

Richard moved to Spain eight years ago having left his management background behind in the UK and decided to use his IT skills to help home users and small businesses with their PC prob­ lems. Now a relaxed 'computer man' he is out and about in the Spanish sun every day, making house and shop calls and using his vast expe­ rience and qualifications to (usually) sort out the problem there and then. Computers are his hobby as well as his work so don’t be surprised to get an answer to your email in the early hours!

TIP: If you remember previously I have published instructions on how to book a medical appointment online. Well today I received a great tip from Jonathon for renewing European Health Cards on-line, it’s another great way to use your computer to help save the time and hassle of queuing at official buildings.

1.Open up a web browser (this seems to work better with Internet Explorer as other 3. Click on “Acceso al servicio” and then the “Solicitar / Renovar Tarjeta Sanitaria” browsers pick up on the security certificate warning) and navigate to www.seg­ button at the bottom of the page. social.es

4. Complete the form with your personal details and click on the “Aceptar” button and your cards should be posted to you within 10 days.

2. In the bottom right hand part of the website is a link to “Tarjeta Sanitaria Europea” – click this link and a new page will open (don’t be tempted to click on the British flag on this page as it will take you to a different page)

office@bluemoonsolutions.es www.bluemoonsolutions.es Mobile: 655 044 970

Office: 902 906 200

Don’t forget you can follow me on twitter @bluemoonspain Alternatively why don’t you sign up for my newsletter. You can do this by going to:­ www.bluemoonsolutions.es and fill in the form that is on any page except the front page.

34

Friday 30th January 2015

THE MOTOR ENTHUSIAST WHO TURNED A £100 FORD GRANADA INTO A £1MILLION SUPERCAR

in excess of 500bhp ­ although he's yet to put his car to the test.

The married father­of­ three, from Iver, Bucks., said: "All I wanted to do was make a coffee table, but I ended up building a car.

"It was a fun project to do with my children although my wife wasn't overly impressed.

"In the first year the proj­ ect became obsessive. I would do audio calls with the angle grinder in one and the phone in the other.

"A lot of blood and sweat went into it, literally. On one day I lost the tip of my index finger in the turbo and it came out of the exhaust.

"My wife likes the colour and I think she is proud of what has been achieved.

"People who drive past and always slam their brakes on and look at it. If you have never seen a Zonda before, you might not know it wasn't one at first

A car enthusiast has spent five years turning a £100 Ford Granada into an exact replica of a £1mil­ lion supercar ­ using scrap parts bought on eBay. Nick Truman, 53, bought an old Jaguar engine for £89 with the intention of trans­ forming it into an elaborate coffee table But when he realised it was too big he instead spent £15,000 to make it a replica of the 200mph Pagani Zonda supercar.

The IT specialist sourced wheels, tyres, gearboxes, windscreens and all the other cheap parts on eBay. He then recreated the Zonda by looking at a die­ cast model along with pho­ tos from the internet for design cues.

Over the next few years, Nick spent thousands of man hours creating his own take on what is regarded as

one of the great modern motors.

During the project he sliced off the top of his index finger in the turbo with the digit then shooting out of the exhaust pipe.

He also had it shipped to Bahrain ­ where he worked for a while ­ and had it regis­ tered to be driven legally.

But the Jaguar engine

died in Bahrain when cus­ toms left the engine running for hours in blistering heat to drain the petrol as he left the country.

So he bought a second­ hand Audi V8 engine, which blew up, before buying another V8 which is current­ ly in the car.

With twin­turbos, Nick believes the car now boasts

look.

"The body isn't perfect but it makes people smile and my children love it."

Nick estimates he has spent around £15,000 on the car.

This includes fibreglass for the body costing £50 and the current engine, which cost £240.

He added: "I would never do it again and in hindsight I probably wouldn't have started."

While it is not road legal in the UK, the car sits on Nick's driveway next to his classic Ferrari 308 GT4 Dino.

He eventually hopes to take it to a drag strip or the Top Gear airfield to see how quick it is.

Friday 30th January 2015

35

36

Friday 30th January 2015

37

Friday 30th January 2015

REVEALED: TOP SOURCES OF ADDED SUGAR IN YOUR DIET

From cola, chocolate and ketchup to beer, yoghurt and soup, find out where most of the added sugar in our diet lurks.

"Added sugar" such as sucrose, hydrolysed starch and honey should not make up more than 10% of the total calo­ ries we get from food and drink each day.

This is around 70g for men (10 tea­ spoons) and 50g for women (eight tea­ spoons), but varies depending on your size, age and how active you are.

But the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (PDF, 1.55Mb) reveals Britons are having far too much, especially children aged 11 to 18 years – 15% of their daily calories are from added sugar.

"Sugar is sugar," says dietitian Catherine Collins. "Whether it's white, brown, unre­ fined sugar, molasses or honey, don't kid yourself: there is no such thing as a healthy sugar.

"Refined sugars offer no nutritional value.

Our bodies don't need it and it is a source of completely unnecessary calories."

Katharine Jenner, nutritionist and cam­ paign director of campaign group Action on Sugar, says: "The sugar we add to our food accounts for a tiny fraction of the added sugar we eat. To really make a difference to our diets, we need to reduce the sugar we get from processed foods.

"The problem is checking for sugar on food labels can be confusing for shoppers as it comes in many different forms. These can be listed separately, but add up."

If you want to cut down on sugar, get used to reading food labels, comparing products and choosing lower sugar or sugar­free ver­

sions.

Below are the six main sources of added sugar in the British diet according to the National Diet and Nutrition Survey, with examples of some of the main sweet offend­ ers.

Sugar, preserves and confectionery ­ Up to 27% of our daily intake of added sugar Choc horror! Britons have a sweet tooth.

A large chunk of the added sugar in our daily diet (up to 27%) comes from table sugar, jams, chocolate and sweets, with chocolate regularly voted Britain's favourite sweet treat. Sugar intake is highest among chil­ dren aged 11 to 18 years.

But there are lower sugar alternatives, says Collins. "Feel a chocolate craving com­ ing on? Then have a banana instead," she says. "The sweet taste and mouth­feel is similar to that of chocolate. Failing that, when it comes to chocolate, the smaller the portion, the better."

Try dark chocolate with a cocoa content of 70% or above, which usually contains less sugar than plain or milk chocolate.

Sweet offenders: Chocolate spread (57.1g of total sugar per 100g) Plain chocolate (62.6g/100g) Fruit pastilles (59.3g/100g) Non­alcoholic drinks ­ 25% of our daily intake of added sugar Perhaps the most surprising source, near­ ly a quarter (25%) of the added sugar in our diet comes from soft drinks, fruit juice and other non­alcoholic drinks.

The levels are even higher among chil­ dren aged 11 to 18 years, who get 40% of their added sugar from drinks – mainly soft drinks, such as cola.

"Most fizzy drinks are basi­ cally refined sugar with water and flavouring," says Jenner.

Fruit juice is an interesting one. Even 100% pure unsweetened fruit juice is high in the type of sugars we need to cut down on. This is because the juicing process releases the sugars con­ tained in the fruit, meaning they can damage our teeth.

While eating whole fruit is better for your teeth, fruit juice still contains vitamins and minerals, so one glass (150ml) of unsweetened 100% fruit juice counts as

one of your 5 A DAY. Fruit juice counts as a maximum of one portion a day, even if you drink more than one glass. If you want to drink fruit juice, it is best to have this at mealtimes only.

Collins says: "Not all fruit juices are creat­ ed equal," says Collins. "If it says 'fruit juice drink' on the label, then it's not a 100% pure juice. A fruit juice drink contains juice, water and a variable amount of added sugar, so be sure to compare labels and avoid the high sugar juice drinks.

"It's an easy win to drop the sugar from sugary drinks. Simply swap the full sugar versions for low calorie or calorie­free ones instead. Better for your teeth and your waist­ line."

Sweet offenders: Cola (10.9g/100g) Squash cordials (24.6g/100g) Sweetened fruit juice (9.8g/100g) Biscuits, buns, cakes ­ 20% of our daily intake of added sugar Britain is a nation of "grazers", preferring to fill up on something that's quick and com­ forting but often high in sugar and fat, such as buns, pastries, biscuits and other cereal­ based foods.

While cereal­based products, especially wholegrains, form part of a healthy bal­ anced diet, we are advised to cut down on varieties high in sugar and fat, which can increase the risk of tooth decay and con­ tribute to weight gain if eaten in excess.

"For breakfast, there's no need to grab a pastry, muffin or biscuits," says nutritionist Dr Michelle Storfer. "Pastries, muffins and biscuits are laden with sugars, not to men­ tion fat. Instead, opt for porridge oats, natu­ ral yoghurt (topped with berries, nuts or seeds) or wholegrain toast with some peanut butter, avocado or eggs. These are healthier options that will keep you feeling satisfied and full of energy until lunch."

Sweet offenders: Iced cakes (54g/100g) Chocolate­coated biscuits (45.8g/100g) Frosted corn flakes (37g/100g) Alcoholic drinks ­ 11% of our daily intake of added sugar People are unaware of the sugar content in drinks and don't include them when calcu­ lating their daily calorie intake. "But cutting down on how much you drink can have a big effect on your sugar intake and your general health too," says Jenner.

Gram for gram, alcohol contains more calories (7kcal/g) than carbohydrates or pro­ tein (4kcal/g). A standard glass of wine (175ml, 12% ABV, 126kcal) can contain as many calories as a piece of chocolate.

Collins says: "We're getting better at counting alcohol units, but most people don't realise that a unit of alcohol equals 70kcals. Add to that value the sugars in your alcoholic drink or added as a mixer, and you can easily top 100kcal per drink."

Tips on cutting down: Have a few alcohol­free days each week Try lower alcohol drinks Have a smaller bottle of beer instead of a can Use sugar­free mixers Swap every other drink for a water or sugar­free soft drink Dairy products ­ 6% of our daily intake of added sugar Although dairy products such as cheese and yoghurt contain lactose (milk sugar), these foods also contain protein and calci­ um and form part of a healthy balanced diet.

We don't need to cut down on lactose, as this type of sugar is not as damaging to our teeth as added sugars.

However, some dairy products, such as flavoured milks, yoghurts and dairy­based desserts such as ice cream, contain added sugar, including table sugar, fructose, con­ centrated fruit juice and glucose­fructose syrup.

"Watch out for the sugar content in lower fat yoghurts," says Jenner. "When you remove the fat from a product, you remove flavour, so sugar is often added to improve the taste. The result is 'low in fat' can still be high in sugar and calories."

Sweet offenders: Fruit yoghurt (16.6g/100g) Fruit fromage frais (13.3g/100g) Choc ice (20.5g/100g) Savoury food ­ 5% of our daily intake of added sugar Sugar is also found in surprisingly large amounts in many savoury foods, such as stir­in sauces, ketchup, salad cream, ready meals, marinades, chutneys and crisps. A 2007 study by Which? found some ready meals had more sugar content than vanilla ice cream.

"We don't tend to think of savoury dishes being high in sugar, but you'll find sugar added to a surprising number of processed foods in the UK," says Jenner. "One way to take control of your sugar intake, but also your salt and fat intake, is to cook from scratch." If you do buy processed foods, get used to checking food labels for sugar con­ tent.

Sweet offenders: Tomato ketchup (27.5g/100g) Stir­in sweet and sour sauce (20.2g/100g) Salad cream (16.7g/100g)

38

Friday 30th January 2015

Friday 30th January 2015

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Friday 30th January 2015

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Friday 30th January 2015

Property

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Restaurants & Bars

Lifestyle & Services

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Friday 30th January 2015

FREE AUCTIONS

ACCOUNTANTS Pro Business Support – for all your accountancy needs in English; bookkeep­ ing, taxes, wage slips and more. We cater for compa­ nies and self­employed peo­ ple; we can deal with every­ thing for you. Call us on 966 923 963 for first consultation free of charge.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS

CHOIR Casa Tom Community Choir: From 8 September 2014, Casa Tom Community Choir meets every Monday at 2.00pm for 2.30pm. It is a

mixed choir and all levels are welcome. No auditions, no solos. Make new friends and have a good time.

Location: Casa Tom, Avenida JACA 31, San Luis, Torrevieja. Phone or email Terry for details. Phone: 647­189­135.

Email: casatomsanluis@gmail.com

CHURCH SERVICES Torrevieja Christian Fellowship at Avenida de las Cortes Valencianas 68, Torrevieja 03183, welcome residents and visitors alike, to their friendly and lively 10.30 am. Service each Sunday morning.

They will not be holding the Wednesday night meeting at 6.00 pm. For further information and/or direc­ tions please telephone 966700391 or visit our website on www.tcf­ spain.org.

International Christian Assembly, Calle Pilar de Horadada 5, Torrevieja.

Evangelical non­denomina­ tional church. Sunday serv­ ices 11am.

Children's church 11am. House groups

in Torrevieja, Los Balcones, San Javier. Ladies meeting Thursdays 11am. Craft club, Tuesdays, 2pm.

Pastor, Rafael Restrepo. All nation­ alities welcome. Call 966 799 273 or 660 127 276.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) meet at 10.00 each Sunday at their Torrevieja meeting­ house in the Torreaguas building on the corner of Rambla Juan Mateo Garcia 104, close to the windmill in Torrevieja, 667 533 597.

The Rainbow Centre for spiritual awareness We meet in the function room at Sacos bar el Limonar just off the CV 905 Rojales to Torrievieja road We have a divine service on Sundays at 11am and on Wednesdays we hold an evening of clairvoy­ ance at 7.30 pm Also on Wednesdays there is an open circle at 5.30 for those who are interested in clairvoyance Healing is always available by certi­ fied healers after each meeting A warm welcome to friends old and new For further information call Trish on 966 844 795 or Email the rainbowcen­ trecostablana@gmail.com

INSURANCE Car insurance quotes – new extra discount on fully comprehensive policies at the price of third party!

Excellent prices for expats, all policies and call centre staff in English. We will call you back with a quote. 966 923 963 CASER SEGUROS ­ for all your insurance needs, home, car, health, funeral.

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GUITAR LESSONS Guitar lessons for beginners and improvers. Provide an insight into most styles.

From 10€ per hour. Call Peter on 966789612 or 629975378. Torrvieja

QUIZZES Experienced quiz­ master/question setter with personality available to host quiz nights in local bars.

Tel:­ 664 838 581

SITUATIONS VACANT RADIO COSTA INTERNA­ TIONAL MEDIA needs self­ employed salesperson. Car, mobile phone and client base available. For more info call 685 901 265 or email info@radiocosta.eu

SITUATIONS WANTED WANTED. English speaking mother's help aged 30­40, with driving licence, to help 7 year old boy with home­ work, and look after him.

Work hours will be 4 hours a day, Monday to Friday. Own room with bathroom provid­ ed, in a house with a pool and garden, in Alcayna, Murcia. Pay will be 125 euros a week. If you have a young child this will not be a problem. Phone 607 43 39 43 or email: mancanpa@yahoo.es CARPET FITTER WANTED Experienced part time car­ pet fitter wanted for the expanding and successful Carpet Heaven in Los Montesinos. Must be hard Working, smart & friendly, with first class customer fac­ ing skills. A clean driving license, your own transport & tools are essential. Please send CV with references to carpetheaven@hotmail.es or call us on 966720782 for more information Gardening, property mainte­ nance, translations, cheap rates call David 722521654.

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Friday 30th January 2015

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44

Friday 30th January 2015

NEW PAR FOR THE COURSE

The USPGA just love statis­ tics, and I’m not sure if the European Tour have the same obsession, but I’ve been chewing over some American figures that are, to be honest, fascinating. Let’s take you to wonderful Hawaii and to the Plantation Course at Kapalua, where at the recent Hyundai Tournament of Champions, nine drives went 400 yards or more. The longest was a tie, and you might be sur­ prised as to who hit those shots: Geoff Ogilvy and Jason Day at 409 yards. So, do you remember when 409 yards was a par four?

Every year, The Plantation Course has an abundance of long drives in the PGA Tour stats. At the end of the Champions Tournament, it was reported that 373 drives that were 329 yards or longer (and only 34 guys played!). One reason is that there are several tremen­ dously downhill slopes on that particular golf course.

With just eight weeks of the 2015 season gone, the idea that 912 drives have been hit that is 329 yards or longer is astonishing. That yardage also equates to par fours, maybe even at the course you play today.

Amazingly, not all the long drives in the current season have been hit from the top of a hill in Hawaii!

At a competition in Las Vegas, the field boasted a strong second to Kapalua's Plantation. There PGA Tour pros struck 345 drives between 371 yards and 329 yards into fairways and

roughs. The 371­yarders belonged to Brenden Steele, Tony Finau and Daniel Berger. Compared to The

Further competitions in the USA 50 recorded substantial drives as one player hit a tee shot 358 yards in the humid

Plantation Course, TPC Summerlin is relatively flat.

But because it is in the desert or for whatever rea­ son, the ball tends to go far­ ther. You can ask anyone who plays desert golf in, when it's nice and dry and desert­like, the ball flies about five percent farther.

Similarly, in the mountains, rule of thumb is generally 10 percent farther.

By comparison, at another tournament in California, there were 95 drives in the top 912 in yardage, the longest one by Shawn Stefani at 401. Next best at that event was Tony Finau at 374. But that's still 95 drives longer than three football pitches plus a junior Olympic pool.

climate. It would have been more impressive to have hit it in August when the mois­ ture content of the air is closer to 99 percent, but it's still a long way. But what was really impressive were the 40 long drives at McGladrey, which is at Sea Island, Georgia, right on the Atlantic coast. The combina­ tion of the sea level and coastal air with humidity you cannot escape, led to Shawn Stefani hitting a drive of 354:­ the longest for that event.

Mayakoba and the HSBC WGC both had four in the top 912 drives, the longest of which were by Bubba Watson at the HSBC and Alvaro Quiros at Mayakoba, who amazingly both hit the same distance, 337 yards.

One would expect Bubba Watson and J.B. Holmes to be at the top of the longest tee shot list early in the sea­ son, but they were down a bit, Watson at 397 yards and Holmes at 399 yards. Both were in the field at Kapalua.

There are plenty of weeks left for them to find the 400­ yard mark.

So, just barely weeks into 2015, already 912 drives

have measured 329 yards.

Last year only Bubba Watson had a measured drive over 400 yards. It was 424 yards on the 16th hole at Firestone CC. Now the USPGA Tour has no interest in worrying about their players hitting the ball too far. Male spectators like to see the long ball along the TV networks, commentators and journalists.

That length is a show stopper, even if they now hit it so far that you lose sight of it.

But over last 20 years, distance has increased at a ridicu­ lous pace.

In 2013, there were

2004, Davis Love, III, had a tee shot of 476 yards. That same season there were 83 drives longer than 400 yards. However, as you might suspect, the longest we have was by Tiger Woods in 2002 with a mon­ ster poke of 498. Two yards short of 500 yards. That's 60 yards longer than a quarter mile. No wonder he says he can't hit it like he used to.

The change officially came in 2001. That year, the longest drive was hit by Casey Martin and went 409 yards during the Tucson Open. The year before, 2000, the longest drive was

by David Duval at 305.

That's a difference of 104 yards.

Every golf fan that has been next to the tee in a profes­ sional event has watched in

par four 20 years ago, it's not a par four anymore at the elite level. The distance disparity is so enormous between top level amateurs and professionals, you have to wonder if it is time to throw away all golf course design theories and just cre­ ate one set of courses for professionals and another set for the rest of us?

We almost have that with the TPC network, but even those don't have room for 800­yard holes. A course like that would have 18­ holes playing at 10,000 to 12,000 yards for a par 72. If we played it, it would be more like playing 36 holes with a par of 144.

Just 20 years ago, par threes were capped at 255 yards. Par fours stopped at 475 yards. Anything longer

19 drives of 400 yards or more, and the longest was

by Phil Mickelson at a cool 450 yards. In 2012, there were actually 67 drives longer than 400 yards. In 2011, it was Dustin Johnson with what you'd think was the record of 463, but it isn't.

Even Steve Stricker, not known for distance, led the category in 2010 with a drive of 424. In 2009, it was Charley Hoffman at 467.

Skipping back further to

awe as the best on the plan­ et rear back and whack a 1.68" ball so far that it's lost in the distance. Everyone loves it. The only people who don't like it are the course owners who will soon have to create 700­ yard holes to make a par four really challenging and carve out 800­yard holes for a difficult par five.

While I am the first to agree it sounds crazy, when a drive goes the length of a

than 475 yards was a par five. That thinking was thrown out the window before 2000. So, when today's golfers can hit a drive as long as what used to be an average par four, is it a par four anymore? Is it the players? Is it the trampo­ line effect of the clubs? Is it the ball? And is it even nor­ mal golf anymore?

Or do today's Tour pros just need monster courses where they can let it fly?

KNOW YOUR RULES TITTER ON THE TEE

QUESTION

A player has a six foot putt and strikes the ball firmly and it rolls past the hole and off the putting green into a water haz­ ard. The player can opt to play a ball as near as possible at the spot from which the last putt was made under penalty of one stroke.

TRUE OR FALSE?

Juan Antonio calls in to work and says,

"I no come work today, I really sick. Got headache, stom­ ach ache and legs hurt, I can no come work."

"The boss says, "You know something, Juan Antonio, I really need you today. When I feel sick like you do, I go to my wife and tell her to give me sex. That makes every­ thing better and I go to work, you try that!”

ANSWER TRUE See Rule 26­1a ­ proceed under the stroke and dis­ tance provision of Rule 27­1 by playing a ball as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played.

Two hours later Juan Antonio calls again.

"I do what you say and I feel great... I be at work soon.....

You got nice house”.

45

Friday 30th January 2015

RONALDO SEES RED CORDOBA 1

Cordoba were denied a share of the spoils last Saturday after a late Gareth Bale penalty clinched the points for Real and all that after Cristiano Ronaldo got his marching orders with eight minutes left on the clock. The result keeps them on top of the table, but after a lot of nail­biting for the Madrid supporters.

It was the Cordoba fans that had plenty to cheer last Saturday within the first two minutes as Manchester United reject Bebe saw his shot cannon off Sergio Ramos' arm and referee Alejandro Jose Hernandez pointed to the spot.

Ghilas then fired home his second goal in three games from the spot. Bebe was making just his third appearance for Cordoba on loan from Benfica, but he was a constant threat

REAL MADRID 2

in the first 45 minutes and was inches away from doubling the hosts' lead with a shot across goal that sneaked just wide.

Slowly, though, Madrid began to find their feet and drew level on 27 minutes when Rodriguez's corner was flicked on by Bale and Benzema slammed home his 15th goal of the sea­ son from close range. However, Cordoba will rue not making the most of a host of opportunities to seal a famous win after the break.

Cartabia was desperately unlucky to see his shot from the edge of the area fly just wide before a scintillating run by Bebe took him past a host of Madrid defenders but his weak shot was easily held by Iker Casillas. The best chance of all

fell to Florin Andone when he pounced on a poor header by Raphael Varane, but Casillas did just enough to turn his attempted lob on to the bar. Madrid rallied in the final 15 min­ utes, but were still restricted to efforts from outside the area as Juan Carlos got down well to stop fierce efforts from Toni Kroos and Benzema.

Ronaldo's frustrations then boiled over when he was rightly dismissed for kicking out at Edimar. Yet, Carlo Ancelotti's men still managed to grind out a vital victory when Bale made no mistake from the spot after Cartabia clearly handled his initial free­kick. Real remain a point clear of Barcelona at the top of the table, with a game in hand, and a home fixture tomorrow afternoon (Saturday) against Real Sociedad.

SIX OF THE BEST ELCHE 0

Here’s the good news for Elche. They won’t have to play the Catalan side again this season as they handed out a third thrashing to the Ilicitanos in the space of just 16 days, after two heavy Copa del Rey defeats. The record for the season shows Elche having no goals to their credit whilst Barcelona have put 18 past them in their four league and cup encounters. More important for Elche was the news that other results had gone in favour of them over the weekend in the lower reaches of the Primera Division, and that keeps out of the drop zone with a crucial six pointer away to bottom side Granada tomorrow evening (Saturday).

It was not the opponents Elche had wanted having taken seven points from their first three league games in 2015 but nearly fell behind after a quarter of an hour, when Jordi Alba volleyed a cross from a free­kick just over the bar.

BARCELONA 6

Messi also shot narrowly over the bar, this time from a direct free­kick, but midway through the first half Fajr man­ aged to test Barca stopper Claudio Bravo twice in the space of a few minutes, first from inside the area and then from a free­kick.

However, Barcelona were getting closer and closer to scor­ ing. Messi played a perfect diagonal ball towards Neymar at the far post but the Brazilian was left blushing as he completely failed to connect with the pass. The opening goal finally arrived nine minutes before the break, with Pique controlling a Xavi free­kick with his chest and slam­ ming the ball into the net with the help of a deflection.

Barca put the game beyond Elche's reach 10 minutes into the second half when Neymar was felled by Sergio Pelegrin and Messi converted the subsequent penalty. The visitors' task was made even easier when Fajr received a

second yellow card and left his side with 10 men. That was the cue for Barca to turn on the style. Messi eased his way past a defender and slipped the ball into the path of Neymar, who slotted effortlessly into the far corner. And two minutes later the two forwards combined again to devastat­ ing effect. Neymar played a short pass to Messi and the Argentinian chipped the ball back across for his team­mate to volley into the top corner from six yards out.

After providing two generous assists, it was only fair that Messi scored again. Barca's all­time top scorer skipped his way past an Elche defender and into the area to dispatch the ball into the far bottom corner. But there was still time for one last goal. Neymar toyed with two Elche defenders on the right wing and then laid the ball on a plate for Pedro to tap in number six. Barcelona remain in second place and entertain Villarreal this Sunday night.

46

Friday 30th January 2015

SUNDAY STINKER

Second­placed Torrevieja contrived to turn on a dire performance in front of a bumper home crowd as they fell to relegation­haunted Ribarroja. In the space of the week, the Jekyll and Hyde nature of Torry was there for every­ body to see from the best of the season at Muro to an abysmal display that must have got everybody guessing why they are doing so well in the table.

Missing Rafa Gomez through injury, Torrevieja had no ingenuity or craft and little by way of gritty determination, and they were on the back foot early on as Faus scored with a 30 yard shot on seven minutes and then Ribarroja packed

their defence and wasted time with shameless bravado. An inept official did little to curb their gamesmanship and the match slowly but surely ebbed away from a Torry side that did not seem to believe that they were capable of winning.

Steve Ekedi has returned to his former club, Bergantiños CF in Galicia and his replacement, Pinera, was introduced on 54 minutes. He showed some good acceleration and the ability to pass defenders, but created no scoring chances.

Corella, who had been booked whilst on the subs bench, made his belated debut with just 10 minutes remaining, showing some useful skills but he didn’t have enough play­ ing time to make a difference. Torry fans were also left won­ dering why Carrasco was not the automatic replacement for the injured Rafa Gomez.

CD TORREVIEJA 0 RIBARROJA CF 1

Torry just couldn’t find a way through during the match, and their passing game played out more in their own half than that of Ribarroja, giving the visitors plenty of time to prepare and maintain a solid defensive shape. Cesar was working hard as the lone striker, but was not supported and this made it easier for Ribarroja to manage: ­ a relegation threatened side that has now done the double over Torrevieja this season. Torry have slipped to fourth in the table, but are four points behind the leaders Castellon, with a trip to Torre Levante this Sunday afternoon with a 4.00pm kick off. There’s a friendly match against second division Norwegian outfit, Lorenskog, this Thursday February 5th at the Vicente Garcia stadium with free entry for a 7.30 pm kick off.

WEAKENED MONTE FALL

CD MONTESINOS 0

CD DOLORES 2

A heavily depleted Montesinos side with six key players either suspended or injured meant that they were always up against it against one of the promotion favourites, but at least the 250 spectators did not suffer the expected heavy defeat as a number of youth players got a run out from manager Juanpe.

Monte withstood the early Dolores pres­ sure carving out several chances them­ selves, with Vaz and Carlos both shooting wide, until the deadlock was broken on the quarter hour when when a defensive error saw a shot well saved by Lopez, who could­ n't do nothing about the rebound shot.

Dolores continued to dominate, and in the 35th minute, a well­worked corner saw a soft shot crawl

into the net to double the advantage for the visitors. make it 0­2.

Monte started the second half the brighter side with some good passing play but were up against a strong Dolores defence, with the visitors happy to defend and to offer some dangerous counter­attacks with Monte’s Manu twice making some good interceptions to keep the side in the match.

The bottom line was that the home team only had two shots on target meaning that bolstering the squad is essential as well as looking at some of the tactics, which at times are somewhat predictable. Monte are back at home this Sunday with a 4.30pm kick off against Crevillente.

47

Friday 30th January 2015

THE MAGIC OF THE FA CUP

I am sad to admit it, but until recently over the years I had lost some of the excite­ ment I used to get whenever the Cup came round. Well, when the Third Round was played in January anyway. Those memories of snow­cleared pitches by fans, staff and even players to get won­ derful Cup ties played remain bright. It’s always a bit of a swiz for the smaller clubs really as the big teams don’t even enter the FA Cup until the Third Round – how unfair is that ­ but nobody complains. It’s all part of the drama as the minnows hope to take on the stars: and the bigger the better…

In 1958 my family moved from the football­ backwater of sleepy old Kent to plugged­ into­the­mains Nottingham and all my ideas about everything were rudely awaken. My father, a rugby­loving New Zealander reluc­ tantly took me to a Nottingham Forest game to see what all the discussions in the pub were about. He was duly appalled by the unsportsmanlike behaviour, the language on and off the terraces and the kissing and cud­ dling of goalscorers: I loved it. In those days Forest were a reasonable First Division side (today’s Premier League), so when in

January 1959 Forest drew non­league minnows Tooting and Mitcham United, there was no cause for alarm, even if the tie was away in South London. But spirited Tooting had already performed marvels to progress right through the pre­ vious rounds to get to the prestigious Third Round, and pulled out a plum when they drew Forest. So this was the FA Cup ­ and I was about to learn a lot…

10th January 1959: on an icy, rut­ ted pitch in front of a packed Black and White striped home crowd yelling for Red blood, Tooting tore into their high­flying visitors. Showing no respect for league status the amateurs were astoundingly leading 2 ­ 0 with only 30 min­ utes to go. But then cruel fate took a hand in the shape of the scorer of Tooting’s second goal, a wonderful volley from 35 yards.

Firstly Eddie Murphy put through his own goal and then, even worse conceded a late penalty safely converted by Billy Gray to give Forest a lucky replay. Poor old Tooting, the Reds easily won 3 – 0 in front of 42,000 at the City Ground: phew!

Four days later, again at home, Forest easily put Grimsby Town away 4 – 1, but in the fifth round it took three matches to dis­ pose of Birmingham City: 1 ­1 at St Andrews was followed by a replay, also 1 – 1 in Nottingham, the third ending in a handsome

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

There was no hissy fit as the recently formed DS Barbarians Rugby club announced that they had to change their name to the Costa Cobras due to circumstances beyond their control. The name may be different but the prin­ ciples remain the same with new players joining the squad all the time for their training sessions at Daya Vieja. Pictured are some of the juniors who train on a Monday from 6.30pm to 8.00pm and on Thursday between 6.00pm and 7.30pm.

The seniors get together on a Monday and Wednesday between 8.30pm and 10.00pm. All ages, males and females, are welcome to join the club which will be staging an Open Day on Saturday March 7th. For more details, phone Robert on 697 286 416.

5 – 0 win for Forest.

A l t h o u g h Nottingham is not a football city, like say Newcastle or Liverpool the city was steadily coming alive with cup fever, and at school we were all eagerly awaiting each next round draw. !958 Cup winners Bolton Wanderers had a number of great players like Nat Lofthouse, but in the sixth round, or quar­ ter finals, Forest beat them 2 – 1 for the right to meet Aston Villa in the semi­ finals. A lone Johnny Quigley goal at the neutral ground of Hillsborough took Nottingham Forest to Wembley to meet the formidable Luton Town, captained by England’s Syd Owen. 100,000, including the Queen and Prince Philip watched Forest get off to a storming start, stunningly 2 – 0 up in only 20 minutes. But immediately after Elton John’s cousin Roy Dwight, scorer of Forest’s first goal was carried off on a stretcher with a broken shin bone. Substitute? Nah, they did­ n’t have prissy things like that back when in the days when men were men – and Forest only had 10 of those, left to play the pre­ match favourites for the cup – for an hour.

In one of the great unsung football team performances, Forest held out to win 2 ­ 1, conceding one goal in the second half: Thompson, Whare, McDonald, Whitefoot, McKinlay, Burkitt, Dwight, Quigley, Wilson, Gray, Imlach. I’ve never forgotten the team.

Despite the glory, glory days of Cloughie who came to the City Ground 16 years later in 1975 and took us so high we needed oxy­ gen, Nottingham Forest have never won the FA cup since, indeed it was the only trophy Brian Clough never won (don’t talk to me about the ‘Gazza’ final against Spurs in 1991, grr…).

Sadly, over the intervening years I have become more tuned in to the top tier of English football, the Premier League (despite my Forest not being there – currently) and I follow the Prem avidly. But I found it fascinat­ ing last weekend watching all the high pro­ file, fabulously­wealthy casualties and con­ sequent miracles performed by lesser, poor­ er­paid souls and their valiant teams. My thoughts jumped back 56 years (it can’t be) to those poor old Tooting and Mitcham sup­ porters with their rattles (I had one of those), bobble hats and scarves having their sixty minutes of fame as they led First Division Forest, only to see the unfairness that is foot­ ball kick in. Forest jammily drew, and then only went on to win the Cup. But in the process, that fantastic cup run lit a fire in one young Nottingham schoolboy that still burns today. The magic’s back!

ZOE’S HAT TRICK

Club Natacion Torrevieja swimmer Zoe Connelly was the star member of the eight person team at Petrer’s Municipal Pool last weekend for a special Timed Swimming Control event aimed at competitors aged 12 and over. 19 regional clubs were represented across 38 different races with com­ petitors restricted to a maximum of three races across the two day meeting, with Zoe notching up three outstanding swims.

In the 200 m Butterfly on Saturday she improved on her

personal best by a bumper 43 seconds and achieved a regional qualifying time with 2:50;53, well under the required time by 11 seconds. Zoe then went onto race on Sunday in the 100 m Butterfly (pictured) and 200 m Freestyle events and continued in the same manner with personal bests and qualifying times in both.

Elsewhere, personal bests were achieved by Piroska Rideg, Skye Burns, Paula Garcia, Yuriy Lymur and Elian Del Rio Castillo in their various events over the two days.

Friday 30th January 2015

48

BLEW IS THE COLOUR!

OK, Mourinho’s men scraped through to the Capital/League/Whatever Cup Final courtesy of beating back­to­basics Liverpool on Tuesday; a thrilling 1 – 0 win in extra time saw Chelsea through to Wembley. But in a tumul­ tuous week only three days before at Stamford Bridge, in front of 6,000 frenzied visiting fans in the FA Cup, Prem leaders Chelsea choked on Saturday.

In one of the all­time great giant­ killing upsets of all time, little Bradford City, 49 places and two leagues below stormed back from being two down to blitz four past one of the world giants of football today. You know, the club backed with all the roubles and fame football can buy, the one with more players loaned out all over the world than Willian has hairs on his Afro…

The Portuguese manager temporarily swallowed his wrath, gritted his teeth and went into the Bantams‘ dressing room and congratulated them all before facing the delirious press, by now muttering words like ‘ashamed’ and ‘embarassed’. I say ‘No way Jose, you got that one wrong’. Putting the second team out for an important 4th round tie was a big mistake – and the Blues boss and his boyos blew it, big time.

Penalty! Yes, the over­dramatic touchline appeals to the secondary officials and half­time ref­baiting were there again for all to see against Liverpool: all this in the same week Mourinho was fined £25,000 for offensively claim­ ing biased treatment by officialdom towards his players.

Oh, and it looks like Diego Costa­packet’s stamp collec­

John McGregor reports

tion on anyone he can is attracting serious attention …

Boro’d time? Those other Blues brothers from ‘oop north also spectacularly blew it at home in t’Coop on Saturday. This time it was Championship contenders Middlesborough who graced and aced the Etihad with a terrific 2 – 0 win, and you’ll never guess what? One of those Chelsea’a loanees, Patrick Bamford scored the second – you can’t make this stuff up, eh, Jose?

The persecution of giants’ season in the Cup began on Friday night when League Two Cambridge United held Manchester United to a goalless draw and it continued on Saturday lunchtime as Swansea City went out at the hands of Championship Blackburn Rovers. Eight­time winners Tottenham also missed out on a place in Monday's fifth­round draw as they conceded twice in the closing seven minutes to lose 2 – 1 at home to Leicester City. Of the 20 biggies in the Prem we’re now down to ten ­ and there’s replays for Man U, Liverpool and Sunderland: cool.

Leaving the thrilling Cup on one side, somehow the Prem fixture list has thrown up another curved ball with Man City coming to Stamford Bridge on Saturday. Hey, that’s three home games in a week, is that fair? But this result will be highly significant come May, because at the moment Chelsea are five points above Pellegrini’s Champions­uz­was. Neither team could be said to men­ tally ready for an affray after the last week’s fireworks.

Bring it on!

Do you believe things run in threes? Well to add to both Blues’ blues, ha ha, third­placed Southampton got theirs as well as the Saints were beaten 3­2 at St Mary's by revi­ talised Crystal Palace. The Eagles are now amazingly unbeaten in four since the prodigal Pardew’s return to Selhurst Park, and Palace are pulling away from the

DDD. Good test coming Saturday, edgy Everton are in town. Saints host sweaty Swansea Saturday, Swalians suffering lately. Six pointer near the bottom –ouch!

Erratic Burnley travel to Sunderland.

No banana skins for FA Cup holders Arsenal beating Brighton, but only 3 ­2. In trouble Aston Villa visit the Emirates on Sunday, will the Villains actually score, now with ex­Elche star Carles Gil who scored in the Cup to also take Villa through?

Are Liverpool back, wack? Certainly looked like it against Chelsea. Mind you, a goal from anyone in Red would’ve helped, but neither Lambert or Balotelli (!) looked capable. Hey, youse, the Anfield accent says Daniel Sturridge is nearly sound again: he’s been missed – very badly.

Spurs had a dramatic midweek affair with a man called Clough – no that one, it’s his son, doing valiant things with yet another Div One club, Sheffield United in the other Cup semi. The poor old Blades couldn’t quite over­ turn yet another classy Christian Erikson free kick to put the visitors through on away goals, as it ended 2 – 2 For once they can call it the ‘Capital’ Cup as it will be between Spurs and Chelsea: 5 – 3, anyone? To keep up appearances in the Prem however the Lillywhites go to rejuvenated West Brom, the Baggies having pulsating pro Pulis in the driving seat now.

Newcastle owner Mike Ashley at last gave the coach’s job to the man who richly deserves it ­ the eternal brides­ maid John Carver, but only ‘til the end of the season.

That mushroom management method – keep ‘em in the dark and feed ‘em on sh** ­ lacks class, a crass decision that smacks of the old ‘Joke’ Kinnear days that caused so much frustration at mighty St James Park. John and the loyal Magpie fans deserve much better treatment.